


Harry Potter and the Pirates of the Caribbean

by GoldenHeroes



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies)
Genre: Crossover, F/M, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:42:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 28,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25886017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoldenHeroes/pseuds/GoldenHeroes
Summary: The crew of the HMS Dauntless weren't expecting to find a second stranded boy out in the middle of the ocean. No boat. No identification. It was as if the boy had appeared by magic.
Comments: 37
Kudos: 205
Collections: Harry Potter, Pirates Of The Caribbean





	1. Welcome to the Caribbean I

The air was still. Making the crossing to the colonies was often a treacherous one, with pirates and rival nations often sinking even the most innocent and innocuous of ships, leaving survivors floating in the ocean for days before their eventual deaths.

Barely three days had passed since the HMS Dauntless had found one such ship, attacked by parties unknown and leaving only a single survivor, young William Turner, and yet the thick unnatural fog still clung to the ship. Three days of careful sailing and the whispers of the semi-conscious boy had the crew on a knives edge, sailors becoming borderline treasonous in their flighty panic as shadows dance in the dense fog.

It wasn’t the Captain of the HMS Dauntless that had managed to quell the panic and stop a growing mutiny, it was the Dauntless’ Lieutenant James Norrington that had put to rest any fears the superstitious sailors were still carrying; and after three days of cutting through the supernatural mist, the Dauntless finally broke through to the clear skies and waters of the Caribbean.

It was upon breaking through the last vestiges of the fog that lingered behind them that Governor Weatherby Swann, standing at the bow of the ship and holding onto one of the nearby ropes that tied whatever sail to whatever notch, saw yet another figure floating along on a piece of driftwood. Where previously it was his daughter, Elizabeth Swann, that spotted the young boy, this time it was the assigned crew member, Joshamee Gibbs, that called out to the rest of the crew and Lieutenant Norrington.

Governor Swann watched the hustle and bustle of the Royal Navy ship as they once again dragged a young boy from out of the vast ocean. Whilst not uncommon to come across those stranded at sea, coming across two within days of each other is most certainly peculiar, especially when the second child is wearing such strange clothes. Unable to see past the bustle of the sailors, Governor Swann instead leans ever so slightly over the edge, not enough to strain himself but enough to get a good look at the boy’s figure as he is dragged from the ocean.

The small boy is quickly dragged out of Governor Swann’s vision, allowing him to only see a mess of black hair and a thin arm flail around as he is manhandled onto the boat. Looking down into the water, Governor Swann watches as, what he assumed was driftwood but was a very ornate looking trunk, slowly sink into the ocean. The papers and books inside already were already starting to spread themselves over the ship’s course as they similarly sank to the bottom, oddly enough a stick had somehow found its way out here as well, floating ever further away from the ship, the stick was followed by a bundle of letters and as Governor Swann’s attention was turned to the dull sound of the boy’s body hitting the deck, the stick and the letters started to shake before suddenly turning to ash and were washed away with everything else.

Approaching the boy, Governor Swann watched as Lieutenant Norrington took to shaking the boy to wake him, watching as he got a good look at the strangely dressed young boy. The boy was wearing a shirt like none he had seen before, large on his frame and yet made with a fabric that he hadn’t seen before, the boy was also wearing some rather outlandish breeches that were very unfamiliar to the Governor and he knew the height of fashion from London itself.

It was only after this quick inspection of the new boy that he finally noticed his daughter standing off a little way away from the clamouring crew, looking towards the huddle in interest. His daughter, interested in pirates and vagabonds alike, would eat this new curiosity hungrily if he didn’t do something quickly. Holding his head up a little higher than before, Governor Swann moved with the practiced haste of a man that was too dignified to run, and knew his business was more important than everyone else’s, and moved to shoo Elizabeth back inside to the unconscious Turner boy.

“Come now Elizabeth,” Governor Swann said with all the authority he could muster, “Mustn’t get in their way now.”

Looking down at this daughter, he happily notices that she is obeying his request and following his guiding hand back towards Lieutenant Norrington’s cabin, where the young William boy has been staying temporarily. Entering the cabin, Governor Swann manages to cut off his daughter’s rebuttal with a simple raise of his hand.

“It is only because you were there that you were allowed to be around for young William,” Governor Swann explains, “You’re my daughter Elizabeth, I will not endanger you by allowing you to remain in harm’s way.” Governor Swann finishes, standing with a firm nod as he looks down at his seemingly chastised daughter, before turning to the two guards standing inside Lieutenant Norrington’s cabin watching the unconscious young boy.

Giving them a sharp look, Governor Swann leaves the cabin and marches back across the deck towards the dispersing huddle of sailors, all going back to their work at maintaining the ship as Lieutenant Norrington and the Captain speaking in hushed whispers before the Captain waddles off to wherever he commands his ship from. Governor Swann didn’t rightly know. Staggering slightly as the Dauntless rocks a little too aggressively for his tastes, he finally reaches Lieutenant Norrington, who looks at the retreating back of the Captain with distaste.

Lieutenant Norrington struck an intimidating pose, his blue uniform was as sharp and tidy as the man that wore it and Governor Swann knew that Lieutenant Norrington would go on to do great things, his almost singlehanded command of the ship in the absence of the higher-ranking officers showed a determination and leadership capacity that Governor Swann knew to be rewarded well; above that, he was a good man with a strong moral mode.

“Whatever is the matter, Lieutenant Norrington?” Governor Swann asks as he approaches the grim-looking Lieutenant, “Is the boy ok? Where has he been taken?”

“The boy has been taken below decks to the brig Governor Swann,” Norrington replies, standing almost at attention but with a tension that belies that level of formality, “The Captain wants him held securely until he wakes, fearing a possible incursion by these two boys to steal from yourself and The Dauntless.”

There is a brief tension before Governor Swann lets out a surprised breath as he says, almost in shock, “Preposterous, boys barely older than 12 couldn’t plan such an elaborate plot.” Governor Swann watches as Norrington seems to deflate a little, his loyalty to his captain refusing him to comment on his fears to anyone other than those above him in rank.

“Be that as it may,” Norrington starts as he starts to walk steadily towards the lower decks, forcing a staggering Governor Swann to follow him, “I have been commanded to wait for the boy’s awakening and to ascertain whether he be a threat to you and this ship and I must ask you to not approach him until after this has happened.”

Lieutenant Norrington waits for Governor Swann at the top of the stairs to the lower decks and looks briefly towards his cabin, spotting the face of Elizabeth Swann quickly before finding it suddenly absent. Standing firm, he holds out a hand to steady Governor Swann as The Dauntless picks up wind now they’ve left the dense fog behind, before giving the Governor a slight bow and walking down the few steps and out of the Governor’s sight.

* * *

Lieutenant Norrington was confused.

Three days ago, young Elizabeth Swann had found a young boy floating in the water, a shipwreck nearby that was most probably destroyed by pirates. The boy was the only survivor but had been lapsing in and out of consciousness for the past few days, clearly needing rest after his life-threatening situation.

Now yet another young boy was found floating the water, three whole days from the closest shipwreck and with only what had seemed to be a simple trunk keeping him afloat. The boy wasn’t holding anything to identify him and was wearing the strangest clothes any of the crew had ever seen. Paranoid Gibbs has already chalked it up to the young boy being some sort of fantasy creature, one the sailors liked to scare each other with, and the ones the Governor’s daughter loved to hear.

The problem was that Norrington couldn’t refute these claims, the boy seemed to have been floating in worse conditions than young William and yet he was already semi-conscious and groaning upon being fished out of the water. The scar on the boy’s head was most odd as well, if he believed in such fairy tales, Norrington might just believe that the boy had been raised or cursed by witches or used in some sinister ritual.

The brig wasn’t his destination, whilst travelling through the Dauntless, Norrington had used his rank to have the men take the young boy to one of the more private cabins. Interrogation wasn’t something the Lieutenant was used too, especially not on a boy barely past the age of 12, but Norrington had to get some answers from the boy so that he wasn’t thrown into jail upon arriving at Port Royale.

Spotting his men, Norrington marched over and entered the room without a second thought, looking for the second time upon the young boy they had just rescued, seemingly awake though not fully alert. Norrington took in the boy’s odd clothes, an odd large short-sleeved shirt, without the normal buttoning, along with large odd breeches that were made out something Norrington had never seen before. Another of the oddest things were how the boy held himself, it was obvious that his clothes were second-hand, these weren’t the clothes of a noble at any rate and their quality and size showed that he hadn’t the money to get himself fitted for his own clothes, but the way the boy held himself was with a stubborn pride that Norrington’s judgement couldn’t and wouldn’t stop him from being himself. It was admirable in a boy so young.

“You are currently on the HMS Dauntless,” Lieutenant Norrington stated, unsure as to how the boy would react, fear would point him one way, relief another, “I am Lieutenant James Norrington of His Majesties Royal Navy,” Studying the boy’s expression, confusion was his predominant emotion, which left Norrington himself in a state of confusion, who was this boy that being on a Royal Navy ship was a confusing state of affairs.

Silence reigned for a few second, Norrington waiting for the boy’s reaction to his circumstances, the confusion wasn’t clearing but it seemed that something was cutting through his mind as the boy’s emerald green eyes were clearing. A hand raised to his head, running through the fringe of his hair and showing a scar Norrington had a look at earlier, some crude lightning bolt etched onto his forehead, though the motion itself seemed familiar to the boy, a nervous tick perhaps?

“Uh… hello Lieutenant N-Norrington sir.” Harry stuttered slightly, meeting Norrington’s eyes as he did so, his voice growing from loud to quiet as if he was unsure what volume to speak or if he should be speaking at all to fill this enforced silence, “My name is… uh… Harry Potter.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just finished watching all of the Pirates of the Caribbean films recently and thought of a couple of idea that wouldn't leave me alone. An outline and about 6k words later, I've decided to post the first chapter of what I'm writing. Like all good fanfic writers, I've got grand ideas, hopefully they'll see the light of day.


	2. Welcome to the Caribbean II

Harry Potter was incredibly confused.

Well, confused and a little scared. He had just finished a rather disastrous birthday with his lovely family, which ended with a creature called a House Elf floating a cake over one of Uncle Vernon’s clients. After that, Harry had run upstairs to try and make an escape, gathering his trunk and letting Hedwig out of her cage, before running headfirst into an enraged Uncle Vernon.

Harry remembered something vaguely about his inherent freakishness and keeping a tighter control over him since he was following his parents by going to his freak school. He also distinctly remembered Uncle Vernon slapping Harry hard enough for Harry to fall onto his trunk, after that, it was all a mess of colours and a cold sensation.

“You say your name is Harry Potter, is that correct?” The man known as Lieutenant Norrington interrupted, his face impassive to Harry’s eyes as he was stared down, the man’s tidy uniform making Harry feeling a little self-conscious about the state of his own clothes, though he tried to hide it, he wouldn’t be cowed by Uncle Vernon or this Lieutenant. Either way, Harry hadn’t ever really had nice things like Lieutenant Norrington to care about them, until Hogwarts anyway.

“Yes sir,” Harry replied, slightly shakily, _probably from whatever happened to me_ , Harry thought as he shook his arms, slightly stiff and a little cold, “My name is Harry Potter.”

“Mr Potter,” Lieutenant Norrington began after a second’s silence, “You are currently here because we found you floating in the middle of the ocean, can you tell us how you got there?”

 _The middle of the ocean?_ Harry thought as Lieutenant Norrington’s words hit him, _how did I get in the middle of the ocean?_

“Mr Potter, can you tell me which Port your ship set sail from?” Lieutenant Norrington asked, after Harry’s almost slack jaw expression and clouded eyes bustling with thought had him unresponsive and seemingly unwilling to divulge any information.

“Port?” Harry replies dumbly, not remembering ever being near a Port let alone getting on a ship and sailing away on one, “Ship?”

“Yes Mr Potter,” Lieutenant Norrington replied patiently, “Since you were neither found with a ship nor another member of a ship, the Captain,” Norrington pauses, distaste on his face as he swallows his next words, “has demanded you remain in custody until such a time as the whereabouts of your ship are ascertained.”

 _But I don’t have a ship,_ Harry replied internally, knowing if he shouted that out to the Lieutenant then things wouldn’t go well, Harry had only started relearning talking back since returning to Hogwarts, but years of keeping his mouth shut around the Dursley’s was coming back to help him now, _I don’t know what to say_.

“I… uh…” Harry stutters as he looks at Lieutenant Norrington, unknowingly pleading with the officer, tension, worry and confusion radiating off of him as he stutters around his words, a hand coming up to his hair, “I can’t re-remember sir.”

Lieutenant Norrington seems disheartened at this news, and moves to stand up, “I see,” he says softly as he moves towards the door, causing Harry to lean forward on the bed he was resting on, “I have one final question for you Mr Potter before we finish here for now,” Lieutenant Norrington starts as he turns back to face Harry, “A young boy was found three days ago by this very same ship and goes by the name of ‘William Turner’, are you familiar with this boy?”

 _What?_ Harry thinks and to his surprise says aloud, “What?”

Lieutenant Norrington smiles as he opens the door, giving a soft “Thank you, Mr Potter” before leaving and shouting order that Harry isn’t focused enough on to notice, before realising he should’ve done as two sailors come into the cabin and bodily drag Harry out of the soft bed. While not rough, these sailors are obviously in a hurry as Harry tries multiple times to get on his feet but ends up being dragged along until he almost thrown but softly enough for him to stay standing into a metal cage.

In an area, closed off from the rest of the ship yet open enough for everyone to see him, Harry doesn’t make any sudden movements as the two sailors return to their posts above deck. Spotting a bench, Harry moves to sit over on it, shivering slightly as he realises that his clothes are wet from being in the ocean. _How did I only just realise I was wet?_ Harry asks himself as he shakes his arms and legs, shaking hardly any of the remaining water loose.

Time passes, Harry doesn’t know how much time though. Several sailors pass by, sometimes carrying items, sometimes to offer him water from a ladle and sometimes to make sure he is still around. _What the hell is going on?_ Harry asks himself as he leans against the bars to get closer to read some writing on a cargo box he spotted.

Leaning a little closer, Harry finally got a good angle to be able to see the writing and unconsciously read aloud, “Property of the Governor of Port Royal” as he twisted his head in confusion, _Governor?_

“You can read?” A voice asked inquisitively behind him, making Harry jump awkwardly, lightly bumping his head on the iron bars surrounding him, turning around, Harry spotted the light voice that frightened him, a 12-year-old girl in a very old and flamboyant dress. Harry wished that Hermione was here to help him, while he wasn’t an idiot by any means, Hermione managed to make sense of every situation with hardly anything to go on, the hunt for the stone proved that much to him, “You’re not much of a Vagabond if you can be scared like that,” the girl asked as she inched closer to the bars.

“What are you wearing?” Harry blurted out, desperate to take the attention away from him, even for just a second, _why is there a girl on this boat?_ Harry thought as he moved away from the cargo he was attempting to read and towards the centre of the cell.

“I’m wearing my dress,” The girl said, as if it was obvious, “What are you wearing though? Where did you learn to read? What were you doing out in the middle of the ocean?” The girl rattled off quickly, leaving no time for Harry to respond to any as he started to rub the back of his head and slightly grimacing at the pain from the metal bars, “How did you get that scar?” The girl asked in wonder as Harry froze and worked quickly to cover it up.

Looking at the girl, Harry replied cautiously, “I got it in an accident.”

The two stood in silence as they looked at each other, the girl’s dress was, he assumed, very fancy. It had an ornate patterning that Harry recognised from some of Aunt Petunia’s more “refined” patterns that she wouldn’t let him handle because it was too important for him to ruin. It gave her a regal authority that Malfoy had tried to pull off in the previous year, but where Malfoy was blustering, this girl seemed to innately know of her status in the world.

“Normally a gentleman introduces himself to a lady” The girl says in a haughtily way, possibly teasingly, _though how am I supposed to tell, she might be as stuck up as Malfoy_ Harry thinks as he moves a little closer towards her, noticing her lean back only slightly as he steps forward a little more.

“Uh,” Harry lets out as he tries to remember anything from class on how to interact with posh people, “Harry Potter, pleased to meet you?” He questions as Harry remembers a film where someone bowed after introducing themselves and proceeds to do a short bow.

Upon hearing a muffled giggle, Harry shuffles back, red faced and embarrassed, expecting something horrible to happen and to be made fun of even more by someone else hiding behind the girl, who was trying her best to hide her laughter.

“Well, that answers what you know about etiquette.” The girl giggles, controlling herself and she steps back a little bit and does a refined curtsy, Harry supposes that this is something she has been taught many times to get it that perfect, “My name is Elizabeth Swann, Harry Potter. Though I do wonder why you know how to read yet you don’t know how to introduce yourself properly.”

“Well, uh,” Harry starts, wondering how far removed from normal people this girl was, “I learned it at school.”

At that proclamation, Elizabeth takes a moment to stare at Harry. Self-conscious about his clothes and general shabby state, Harry fidgets as Elizabeth seems to come to some decision about him, her brown eyes sharpening as she looks directly into his eyes, and just as she’s about to speak, a sharp voice cuts through the air.

“Elizabeth!” A man in a deep red coat shouts as he strides over with Lieutenant Norrington walking in a slightly deferred position, “I told you not to go wandering after the boy, why don’t you ever listen to me?” The man seemed exasperated but used to such actions as Harry looked on in confusion between the very stately looking man and Lieutenant Norrington, who was keeping an eye on Harry, as if he were going to do something unexpectedly.

“-but Harry isn’t like Will, he can read.” Harry heard Elizabeth explain to the man, probably her father since Harry saw the protective way that the man held Elizabeth, especially moving her away from Harry’s cell bars.

“He can what?” The man asks, looking to Norrington for confirmation, “You can read boy?” The man says, bringing his gaze towards Harry, his eyes lighting up as he kept looking, almost erratically, between Harry and Lieutenant Norrington.

Harry was slightly startled by this sudden change in the man, as well as Lieutenant Norrington, who suddenly stood straighter and quickly strode away leaving Harry alone with the man and Elizabeth, since Harry had come on board, wherever he was, he was seemingly a prisoner. The entire experience has been surreal, and Harry didn’t know how to react to any of it, the information of his being able to read shouldn’t be as big of a deal as it’s being made out to be. _I’m missing something, though what I have no idea_.

“Uh,” Harry said dumbly as he came back to reality upon seeing a hand gesture from Elizabeth, “Uh, yes sir, I can read.”

It was at this moment that Lieutenant Norrington came back with a small book, though the cover was too far away, it was a dull red and leather bound. It seemed like a very fancy book and Harry was shocked when Lieutenant Norrington passed the book through the bars, shaking it for Harry to take, which he did, rushing forward to grab it with both hands.

“Read the title of the book please Mr Potter,” Lieutenant Norrington commanded, standing in front of the man, who himself stood in front of Elizabeth. Nobody noticing Governor Swann tensing up and looking at Norrington at the mention of Harry’s name.

Looking down at the book, Harry noticed the book shaking, and realised that it was his hands making it shake. Taking a moment, breathing deeply in and out, Harry opened his eyes, _when had they closed,_ and brought the book up into the light.

“Robinson Crusoe by Edward Ardizzone” Harry read aloud, before looking back up to his audience to see Elizabeth smiling as well as, probably, her father and an almost smug looking Lieutenant Norrington.

“Lieutenant Norrington,” Elizabeth’s father started, “I believe that you should inform the Captain that we may have the lost child of a wealthy British family on board.”

Standing at attention, Lieutenant Norrington faced the man before speaking very clearly, “Right away Governor Swann,” before turning and unlocking Harry’s cell door, “though you may want to take Mr Potter out of here first, it is clearly no place for this young man.”

Lieutenant Norrington then marched away as, Governor Swann, beckoned Harry forward, gently taking the book away and guiding him towards Elizabeth, who seemed happy to see Harry outside of bars. Harry himself was starting to shake more, _what the hell is going on_ , he thought as things started to get a bit blurry.

“Good show there boy,” Governor Swann started, “Good show indeed, I’ll go and sort out any arrangements with the Captain, Elizabeth I leave him with you.” Governor Swann then started off after Lieutenant Norrington as Elizabeth stood properly next to Harry as she almost escorted him away from the brig.

“You can thank me for breaking the rules and visiting you later,” Elizabeth proclaimed, almost cheekily as she walked step for step with Harry, “Are you feeling all right there Harry?”

Harry was, indeed, not feeling all right. He hadn’t put it together straight away, but it was starting to form in the back of his mind. Being able to read isn’t something special, neither is having a scraggly top like his, and the fancy clothes everyone was wearing, Harry remembered watching a documentary in school where people wore clothes like these. It was just… not possible though.

“Elizabeth,” Harry says suddenly, turning to look at Elizabeth’s brown eyes, seeing her playful nature flash into concern as they stood opposite each other near the stairs towards the deck, _did they walk all that way already_ , “What day is it?”

“It’s Wednesday Harry,” Elizabeth states, confusion crossing her face as everything, the ambient creaking of the ship, the slight sound of the waves being split and the hustle of the crew above deck, everything except for Elizabeth’s words as a sinking sensation comes across Harry.

“uh, ah, the” Harry stammers as his hands come up to Elizabeth’s shoulders, a second of fear crossing her face as Harry’s head continues to pound, “The date, the exact date.”

It’s a tense moment, the two standing there as Harry and Elizabeth stare into each other’s eyes before Harry lets out a pleading, “Please,” enough to make Elizabeth crack as she takes a deep breath.

“It’s the 31st of July, Harry, the year of our lord 1720,” Elizabeth says softly, gently reaching up and taking Harry’s hands from her shoulders and into her own as Harry stumbles around.

Everything is silent, as Harry tries to get his footing, his legs suddenly weak, as if swiped out from underneath him. Looking around, Harry spots a man walking towards them, a man from the past. Where he is.

“It’s my birthday,” Harry comments, airily as if detached from himself and his words, as he smiles weakly at Elizabeth, before promptly fainting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't expect daily updates, but since this is a new project I'll probably be uploading more frequently since I'm currently biting into the start of it. I've been writing for the last few days so I've got a nice buffer if things slow down, which is an attempt to negate any fanfic update dropoff after the first weeks.


	3. Welcome to the Caribbean III

Darkness was peaceful.

This was Harry’s first thought upon waking up, which itself broke the peace. _What an odd idea_ , the sleepy Potter thought as his senses began returning to him.

First, smell. The smell of flowers, lilies maybe, before being washed away by the smell of salt and the sea. It was almost overwhelming, as if he could feel the sea on his face as it crashed up against him, but it wasn’t, it was just the smell of it and soon it retreated, like the tide going in and a mix of the ocean and the flowers came to rest as he felt something by his feet.

Touch, he could feel someone sitting at the end of, wherever he was sitting. Though who, Harry couldn’t tell, it could be anyone. Hermione, Dumbledore… uh, Harry doubted Ron would sit at the end of his bed.

“-seems to have fallen in shock Captain, it has been a traumatic experience for the boy.” A voice said, loudly, very loudly. Too loud for Harry as he slightly flinches away from the loud noise.

He could hear, but with that comes the memory of what has happened. The ship, the ocean, the metal bars. Elizabeth. Lieutenant Norrington and Governor Swann were both supposed to get the Captain, that means that…

Harry groans, attracting the attention of everyone as suddenly, all the noises stop. Sadly, doesn’t stop Harry’s senses from coming back, his dry mouth firmly telling him that he can taste whatever horribleness he has swallowed.

“Mr Potter can you hear me?” A voice says loudly from his left, or is it his right, “Can you hear me Mr Potter?” The voice asks again as Harry tries to open his eyes, sight not yet returned to him as he manages to let out another groan and a small nod, which sets off another round of cacophonous noise, seemingly an argument.

“Liestillhecan’tpleaseMrGovernorshouldIneedtoknowabetterlookandnotbetohelpdrawnintoyouHarryNorrington Elizabeth stop that.” Once voice cuts through the rest, the cacophony continuing but Harry managing to catch the last order directed at Elizabeth, though from the feeling from his hand she hadn’t stopped whatever her father had demanded as his voice rises once again, though much closer.

“It is not proper Elizabeth, it is bad enough that I let you stay but to get so close to the boy,” The man, Governor Swann, protests and he realises that Elizabeth Swann must be the one holding his hand. The Swann’s, 1720. _Oh god, I’m stuck in the past._

Harry groans again and moves slightly, a man protesting about movement as he feels himself being poked by something in the shoulder. Trying for his eyes again, Harry gets blinded by the light, whatever light, and quickly shuts them tight again and relies on his hearing.

“He hasn’t got anyone father; would you deprive him of any comfort at all?” He heard Elizabeth ask, though to Harry’s ears that it was said more innocently than it should’ve done, as if this was something of a game for her. Harry thought that it was nice to have a father to torture so much.

Harry forces himself to squint his eyes open, light blinding him for several seconds as he grunts in pain, the sound of the medic scolding him for moving so much. The first thing Harry sees, is Elizabeth’s worried face, his eyes quickly placing her down near the end of the bed he was lying in. When had he gotten into a bed? Their eyes lock for a moment, before the face of a grizzled medic is twisting his heads towards him to look him in the eyes as he once again hears the, now identified cabin, fall silent.

Harry is forced to track a finger and tell the annoying medic, with a rather harsh and unremarkable face, every question that is thrown at him. Having seen multiple real doctors and a magical doctor, Harry finds this form of medicine to be quite archaic, and inaccurate as well. _Wait, this form of medicine?_

Harry groans again, once again realising that he has somehow travelled to the year 1720. It seems impossible, but Harry remembers Dumbledore telling him that magic was capable of a great many things, why would time travel be any different. Though accidental time travel might have been a little more extreme than what the kindly headmaster was suggesting.

During his slight panic, Harry missed the medic leaving, not getting what was said about him as Governor Swann, Lieutenant Norrington and the Captain all talk in more hushed whispers away from Harry and Elizabeth.

“They say you’re in shock,” A voice startles him, causing him to jump back and almost hit his head against the cabin wall, though this time he manages to pull himself back in time before that happens, “Well, at least you’re more alert this time.” Elizabeth teases as she sits next to Harry, watching her father debate something with the captain.

“What happened?” Harry asks, looking around. The cabin is very ornate, clearly designed for important people, trimmings of gold and deep blues and reds cover the walls as well as ornate decorations and lanterns. Harry marvels at the designs that all flow into each other, the bed he has found himself lying only is almost as good as the beds from Hogwarts, but they’re enhanced with magic so that might be a bit unfair.

“Well, after you fainted, crewmate Gibbs brought you to the Captain and Lieutenant Norrington, who allowed you to stay temporarily in my father’s cabin.” Elizabeth explained, looking excited. Harry wondered how boring her life must be that him fainting is considered a big event, “It’s only been a few hours after that, the sun hasn’t even set yet.” Elizabeth finishes, pointing out one of the nearby windows, as ornate as the rest of the room with many windowpanes separated by, what Harry assumed to be, a dark rich wood.

“Oh,” Harry exclaims, turning red, before bringing a hand up to the back of his head to run it through his hair before raising his voice a little, but not so much that everyone else in the cabin can hear him, “Well, uh, sorry about the fuss and everything.”

“Not at all Mr Potter,” An authoritative man states, larger in stature than Governor Swann and Lieutenant Norrington. The man was had a large hat, with a white feather in it as well as having his blue uniform, like Lieutenant Norrington’s, have an assortment of extra patches and intricate weavings. He spoke with an uncharacteristically high-pitched voice that didn’t suit his stature but spoke in such a way that he expected his authority and experience to be recognised, something that reminded Harry very much of Uncle Vernon.

“I’m terribly sorry for the confusion upon your arrival, having almost had a run in with pirates set the crew on edge and I didn’t want to have to deal with a rowdy crew this late into the voyage,” The Captain explains, as if that makes up for putting him in the brig, “Anyway, Governor Swann has assured me that he will be keeping for your protection for the remainder of the journey, as such, I must get back to the ship at hand.”

The Captain nodded slightly at Harry, before shaking hands with Governor Swann and leaving with Lieutenant Norrington following behind him. Governor Swann walked a little distance away, watching the Captain leave and closing the door behind him before moving back over towards Harry and Elizabeth.

“Well, this has been a rather exciting day hasn’t it?” Governor Swann says, alone with the two children, looking back and forth between Elizabeth and Harry, “As the Captain said Mr Potter, we’re all sorry for how things transpired. I have heard of the Potter family during my time in London and should’ve moved faster to work things out.”

Upon the mention of possible family, Harry perks up a little bit, looking towards Governor Swann more attentively, something which the father manages to pick up on as he moves a nearby chair, though in reality it is more like a miniature throne with the ornate carvings, to continue the more intimate conversation. A glance is spared at Elizabeth, who seems more interested in finding out about the mystery boy than disinterested that he might be from similar noble circles.

“I’ve already drafted a letter to be sent back to England on the first mail ship,” Governor Swann says evenly, with a hint of worry creeping in, “though I’m unsure of how quickly we will get a reply. The Potters have been reclusive for generations and it was only through luck that I managed to be at an event they attended.” Governor Swann’s hand came to pat Harry’s own, forcing Harry to keep his need to flinch away from the contact to the minimum, manging to hide it almost completely.

Thinking of possibly meeting his ancestors is only slightly appealing to Harry since it isn’t his many times great-grandparents that he wants to meet, but rather his actual parents that sacrificed themselves for him. For all the possible time periods that Harry could’ve travelled too, why couldn’t it have been one where his parents were still alive?

“Now,” Governor Swann suddenly shouts, breaking Harry’s concentration and making him jump, to yet another round of giggles from Elizabeth, “It is still around a week before we reach Port Royal and we must prepare you for supper tonight, we’ll have to bring in some help once we reach our destination to get you proper clothes, but for now you’ll have to make do in these since we don’t have a seamstress on the ship.”

Harry blinks at the speed of the invigorated Governor Swann, looking between him and a smiling Elizabeth. Overwhelmed, Harry seemed to be getting a crash course in fashion for men in 1720, his last thought before being whisked away by Governor Swann and Elizabeth for supper was: _What am I going to do?_

* * *

It was late, not late enough for the shift to change, but late enough for Harry’s presence to start grating against the crew. He hadn’t yet changed into clothes suitable for ‘his station’, but was still treated like Elizabeth was, he hadn’t yet met Will Turner, the other stranded boy who was seemingly attacked by Pirates. Apparently, the boy had only recently woken up and was getting a similar treatment to Harry, this time by the Captain himself rather than the lowly Lieutenant Norrington, who joined them for supper.

It was here, staring at the water that almost perfectly reflected his face and the slowly darkening sky, that Harry remembered Hogwarts. The Black Lake shimmering on his first night over it as he remembered the grandiose feeling of looking at the ancient magical castle.

His wand!

Harry quickly searched his pockets, remembering he fished his wand out of his trunk shortly before Uncle Vernon confronted him. Checking everywhere once, then again and again and again, Harry’s search was stopped when Elizabeth approached behind him and once again managed to startle him.

Harry stared briefly at the noble girl and wondered what she would think of him being a time-travelling wizard, he had heard all over supper about her fascination with Pirates and the mysteries of the sea. Tales of ghost ships, the undead and creatures of the deep. It reminded him of a time before he attended Hogwarts, fascinated with magic and spells that the Dursley’s tried so hard to stamp out, Harry couldn’t help but be drawn in by Elizabeth’s tales.

“Did you lose something?” Elizabeth asked after Harry hadn’t fallen overboard, seemingly taking pleasure in creeping up on him, or maybe he was just wasn’t paying enough attention. Snape did often say he that, maybe the surly teacher was right. Looking at Elizabeth, Harry decided to tell her the truth… or some of it anyway. Telling everyone about magic in his time would be bad for him in the normal world, it would be even worse if he did it 200 years in the past.

“Yes, something very special to me,” Harry almost whispers, turning back to face the darkening ocean, “I don’t think it made it with me onto the ship though.” His wand could be his only way back home, magic was a fickle thing, he could be trapped here. For the rest of his life.

“What was it?” Elizabeth asks softly, moving closer towards Harry as they both watch the sun grow smaller. The sound of sailors changing shifts as the sun finally set, the last light of the day giving into the light of the candles slowly popping up over the large ship.

“Something from home.” Harry elaborates after the sun sets, “Something that reminded me of my parents.” The pause is heavy, the reality of Harry’s situation suddenly piercing through Elizabeth’s mind like a bullet, _or a musket shot_ Harry thought as he looked out over the inky black sea, oddly calm despite never having seen it before today.

“They could still be out there Harry,” Elizabeth tries to console after a while, a hand resting near Harry’s on the bannister. Elizabeth seemed hesitant to touch him outside of doing so to rile her father about proper etiquette, “People have survived from worse fates than being stranded at sea.”

Harry looked out over the ocean. Wondering what it would be like if his parents were just simply stranded at sea, maybe on an island using their magic to survive, worrying about him and doing their best to make it back to him. It was a nice thought, Harry had dreamt of his parent’s surviving and coming to rescue him from the Dursley’s before, but the idea of them fighting they way out of a situation like this seemed… nicer… somehow.

Awkwardly, Harry ran his hand through his hair, he was about to tell Elizabeth about his parents, thinking of a way that wouldn’t reveal about magic or the time travel. Instead, he managed a grunted “Uh, yeah” as he noticed Governor Swann standing a little way from them, a small smile on his face as he watched them. “Governor Swann?” Harry called out, causing Elizabeth to turn around as well.

“I thought you should know that Mr Turner has been cleared, so to be speak, by the Captain and has been allowed a bunk with the rest of the crew.” Governor Swann revealed as his voice carried in the night, forcing him to speak no louder than above a whisper, “I believe you shall all be well acquainted by the end of the trip, being the only children on board.”

Elizabeth seemed excited at the prospect, unknowingly handling the medallion hidden on her person. Harry was still reserved, which most chalked up to shock of the past day, which might not be far off the mark. He was exhausted though, something which Governor Swann seemed to notice.

“Harry, Lieutenant Norrington has offered the use of his cabin for the remainder of the voyage, I can show you there now so you can catch some sleep before the morrow.” Governor Swann suggested, though it felt more like an order as he walked steadily over to Harry and guided him away from Elizabeth, who was seemingly ready to protest.

“Off to bed with you as well Elizabeth,” Governor Swann ordered, but with a note of resignation that he would have to return for his daughter soon enough, “You’ll have a busy week ahead of you with these new passengers we’ve picked up.”

The last thing Harry saw of her was a slight pout, before being dragged away by her father, who was quite determined to send Harry off to sleep. Harry had a sudden flash to Professor McGonagall doing a similar trick the first week of Hogwarts, forcing students up to bed when they got too caught up in their conversations or late summer homework. He wouldn’t miss that, those assignments were hard.

The pair walked in silence, Governor Swann’s delicate hand on Harry’s back before leading him down below deck, past most of the sleeping sailors and towards a fairly large but simple room with the only identification being that of a plate with the name ‘J. Norrington, First Lieutenant’.

Entering the room, Harry recognised it from an earlier conversation he had with Lieutenant Norrington. The accommodations were not as anywhere near as ornate as Governor Swann’s or his daughter’s, but it was much better than sleeping in a hammock. Looking at nearby personal items, Harry resisted the urge to touch any of them, thinking of how annoying it got when his housemates in Gryffindor kept moving his things.

“I know it’s been a rough day for you Harry,” Governor Swann started as he moved into his room, for now, “You must still be in a little shock and everyone understands not having a firm grasp on what’s happened.” Governor Swann paused here, looking back outside quickly before bending down slightly to be face to face with Harry, “Things are looking up, I won’t abandon you homeless when we reach Port Royal.”

It was with that and a firm pat on the back, that a confused and gobsmacked Harry was left by Governor Swann, the last words of “Sleep well” still ringing in his head as he closed his eyes and dreamt of bright colours, brown eyes and cold water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never been a very patient person but I have gone through this one two or three times to try and make sure it isn't that rough. It might still be janky, I never professed to be a good writer and it comes with the fanfic territory really. I'm starting to wonder if these chapters are too short, I always go to where I think it should end rather than a specific word count but maybe I should be adding in more per chapter so this doesn't end up a 100 chapter behemoth. Anyway, hope some of you are intrigued with how this is going, I'm not a master storyteller but I don't want to just have this be a bland character insert, though it may end up like that when it gets around to the films. I'm trying not to end up that way though, so back to writing.


	4. Welcome to the Caribbean IV

Colours flashed by in quick succession, red to orange to yellow to green to blue, repeating over and over again as Harry fell through them. Passing through each like a ghost, not slowing down as they slowly coalesce, forming new colours, abstract shapes before finally forming into a single bright light as words Harry can’t comprehend are shouted at him and suddenly everything turns to a sickly green.

Harry bolts up, waking suddenly from his dream. Looking towards the small window, Harry spots the sun slowly rising, he hadn’t slept for as long as he expected to, though it might have something to do with the weird dream he had. Dreaming of flashing colours and falling, Harry knew enough that it wasn’t a good sign.

Wiping the sweat that had formed on his forehead, Harry took a deep breath as his hand move instinctively towards the nearby bedside table to put on his glasses, to find nothing. Looking over, Harry saw the hardwood table hold nothing except for an unlit candle in a grey-looking holder. Hand flying to his face, Harry suddenly realised that he hadn’t been wearing glasses since he arrived here. _What the hell is going on?_ He asked himself as he sat up in the small bed that was temporarily his.

His eyesight had always been terrible, having always needed some form of glasses to be able to read and to see. Yet, since he had woken up on a ship 200 years in the past, Harry hadn’t had any trouble walking around or reading the small scrawl on the book Lieutenant Norrington gave him. _If this magic is possible, why didn’t Madam Pomfrey fix it last year?_ Harry thought as he started waving his hand in front of his face, _unless this isn’t normal,_ a rogue thought echoed in the back of his head.

Harry felt a little queasy at the thought and looked towards the door in sudden need of air. Was he even allowed to walk around the ship like Elizabeth was able to? Harry stumbled a little as he got out of the bed and moved towards the door, about to open it when it suddenly flew open, forcing Harry back a few steps as Lieutenant Norrington entered, unsurprised at Harry being awake.

“Good to see you ready for the day Mr Potter.” Lieutenant Norrington spoke clearly as he moved into the room and grabbed something, what Harry couldn’t see, “If you would follow me, I’ll be taking you to the Governor and Miss Swann for breakfast.”

Before Harry could respond, Lieutenant Norrington was already walking out of the room, forcing Harry to run to catch up with the man’s fast pace. Harry watched as men parted for Lieutenant Norrington, pausing in their own journeys and looked ragged in either hunger or tiredness, he wondered how many chose a life at sea out of necessity rather than for the love of the sea.

Climbing up the stairs, Harry noted how the ship seemed much grander in the light, his previous thoughts now forgotten as he marvelled at the impressive ship. Ropes hung from almost everywhere above him and were tied tighter than anything Harry had seen, each one attached to a different part of the massive sails that moved the ship. Staring in wonder, Harry didn’t notice the detail put into the carved notches and sides, or the thoughtful look on Lieutenant Norrington’s face as he waited for Harry at the bottom of the upper deck stairs.

Moving slower, Harry watched the crew move around the deck, maintaining the knots as well as climbing higher up the ship to do the same. At the yell of a crewman on deck to one higher up, Harry was snapped from this trance and quickly moved to catch up with Lieutenant Norrington, red in the face with embarrassment for being caught out. The two continued moving, at the same fast pace as Harry spotted Elizabeth, in a different but equally fancy looking dress.

“It seems you have the spirit of a sailor Mr Potter.” Lieutenant Norrington commented as they approached the top of the stairs and started their quick walk to the Governor’s table, “Try not to fall overboard again Mr Potter, having the spirit doesn’t equate to having the skill.”

Having reached the table, Harry barely heard Governor Swann polite comments to Lieutenant Norrington as he stared at the man. _Did Lieutenant Norrington just make a joke?_ Harry thought as he watched the man dip his head slightly before quickly marching back the way they came. Harry automatically sat down on Governor Swann’s orders as he boggled at the news that the prim and proper Lieutenant Norrington might have a sense of humour.

“Did you sleep well Harry?” Elizabeth said evenly as she took an assortment of foods from the middle of the table, her voice breaking Harry from his thoughts as he finally took in the breakfast table. How they managed to get this amount of food just for them out in the middle of the ocean was astounding, rolls and meats and what looked like several different types of cheese lay in front of him.

“Uh, yeah” Harry replied without thinking as he looked over at a three-person feast, “What’s all this?” He asked, his hands waving above all the food, unable to say anything more. _This is what they eat when travelling, how much do they normally have_? He asked himself as he tried very hard not to think about everything that had happened up to this moment, which was almost impossible.

“Ah yes,” Governor Swann said, unfazed as he took and knife to some sort of breaded thing and spread jam all over it, “Elizabeth informed me late last night that you said it was your birthday yesterday, after everything that happened, the Captain and myself thought a little extravagance was needed.” Governor Swann looked up at Harry as he bit into, whatever he was preparing, and smiled slightly at Harry, probably to but him at ease but really putting him more on edge than before.

“Sir, you really didn’t need to go to any tr-“ Harry started, wondering who had to make and serve all this, as Governor Swann put another hand in the air halting Harry’s protesting.

“Nonsense, nonsense my boy, it is the least we could all do. Have something to eat, you must be starved, you hardly had anything at supper last night.” Governor Swann encouraged as he pushed forward the plate from which he had initially taken from.

Shooting a quick look at Elizabeth, who was already starting on some meat, Harry supressed a sigh as he moved to pick up the food item and a knife to copy the Governor. _At least I’m not going hungry_ , he thought as he started to eat.

* * *

Where on the ship was Will Turner?

It had been two days since Harry had arrived on the ship, some of the time spent with Elizabeth, watching the ocean, talking about their destination and avoiding Harry’s arrival and circumstances. He spent time with some of the crew as well, Lieutenant Norrington was normally polite to him and answered his questions in a short and concise manner, whilst Joshamee Gibbs regaled him with tales of sea creatures. Though the man had been talking about his scar being an ill omen for him, the most probable cause of his memory loss, and how he should be careful about showing it.

It worried Harry, since the man was close to the mark about his scar. His first memory of entering the wizarding world was of people clamouring to see his scar and shake his hand, worrying him that would set a trend here as well. Lieutenant Norrington was quick to put that to rest, telling off Gibbs for stirring fear into Harry, before awkwardly comforting the boy about how people wouldn’t seek him out for a scar alone. Which Harry knew to be false but felt bad for the Lieutenant who was probably still feeling guilty for kind of imprisoning him.

It was throughout all this that Harry hadn’t seen a single hair or whisper of the other stranded boy, Will Turner. He had been assured that Will wasn’t being held, so Harry had to assume that the boy was somehow hiding, especially when he asked Elizabeth and she confirmed that she hadn’t seen Will either. It was on the third day that Harry and Elizabeth agreed to go searching for the possibly lost child, even though Governor Swann didn’t seem too worried about the welfare of the missing boy.

They started where they were permitted to look, above deck and the first compartment below deck. Harry and Elizabeth explored together, weaving in between the sailors preparing to dock in the next few days, looking behind cargo and anywhere he could be possibly hiding. It was after this brought nothing, that they started to look where they weren’t permitted to go.

The gun deck was next, hiding from the few sailors who were crossing the deck, cannons lining the walls tied down and lightly rocking with the sway of the ship. After that it was the crew cabins and then the crew canteen, almost packed with crew members who seemingly didn’t care about the two running around and more concerned with whatever job they had to fulfil at the moment or what to have to eat.

Harry and Elizabeth were getting worried when they couldn’t find him, until they went onto the second lowest deck, and finally found him. Elizabeth spotted him first, knowing what he looked like, though that didn’t matter with no other kids around, and urged Harry onwards to find Will was with a man, who didn’t look anything like him and was probably not his father.

“Will, there you are!” Elizabeth cried out in relief as she ran towards the previously stranded boy, who seemed confused as to why she was here, before the confusion grew as he spotted Harry following her, “Where have you been? Why are you down here?” She asked, in a similar quick succession as when she spoke to Harry for the first time, Harry realised that she hadn’t talked to Will in days, and even then not in as much detail as she had Harry since the boy was injured after being rescued.

“Miss Swann?” Will asked, almost dumbly as he looked between the two, “What are you doing here?”

“I asked first,” Elizabeth teased as she looked around the area, it wasn’t anything special, but it was clearly a makeshift armoury, swords lay from wall to wall as well as canon balls and spare canons. Harry walked over to a nearby sword, so shiny that he could actually see his face back into it, looking down a little, he saw several daggers as well, or they looked like daggers without a grip.

“-down here until we get to Port Royal where he will become a Blacksmith and agreed to apprentice me.” Will said quietly, forcing Harry to listen as he walked back over from his admiration of the swords.

“You’re going to learn how to make swords?” Harry asked with wonder, looking back at Will, Harry couldn’t imagine how hard it would be to make something like the swords in front of him, some of these looked incredibly elegant with amazingly detailed hilts. “Swords as good as these?”

Will looked at Harry in confusion for a few seconds, before turning to the swords and unknowingly puffing out his chest, “I’m going to make swords better than these.” His eyes focused with a determination that Harry knew once he got his Hogwarts letter, Harry was about to introduce himself before a deep voice suddenly boomed out from behind them.

“Gonna make better swords are ye?” All three children turned to face the voice, spotting a man who wasn’t as large as the voice made it sound, though he was obviously a blacksmith, his entire body was built with muscle upon muscle though the man was obviously aging, his heard beginning to grey and his eyes weary with his years, “Ye can’t make anything yet Turner, ‘cept trouble fer me it seems. Bringing these two down ‘ere where they don’t belong.”

“Mr Brown, sir, I didn’t” Will began as he moved towards the large and slightly slurring blacksmith, who didn’t seem to care for any of Will’s excuses.

“Go get the moulds Turner, we dock in a few days and if you’re stayin’ then I ‘pect you to make yerself useful.” Mr Brown slurred slightly, leaning against a wooden beam as he looked towards Elizabeth and Harry and took a long drink of something in a bottle, before turning around and moving back towards where he entered.

Will, seemingly dejected, turns back towards the pair, “uh, I’ve got work to do,” he stammers, not wanting to have to leave Elizabeth, “It was nice seeing you again Miss Swan,” ignoring Elizabeth’s annoyed “Call me Elizabeth, Will,” before he turns to Harry and sticks out his hand, “you as well Mr Swann.”

Harry, unsure as of what to do, takes Will’s hand and quickly says, “Oh, I’m not a Swann, I’m just Harry,” which manages to earn him an even more confused look, realising that he might’ve spoken faster than he intended, Harry repeats, “I’m just Harry Potter,” as he lets go of Will’s hand.

Will looks between the two, before nodding slightly and walking back where Mr Brown left to. Harry and Elizabeth similarly retreat towards where they should be, their odd encounter with William Turner ringing in their heads still.

Upon reaching the top deck, Harry turns to Elizabeth and asks her the most pressing question on his mind. “Why isn’t he up with us? Why is he going with Mr Brown?”

Elizabeth looks at Harry with a little frown, and some sadness as she answers simply, “Because he’s just a normal boy.”

It isn’t until later that Harry realises that Will isn’t with them because he hasn’t got a name Governor Swann recognises from his time in London.

* * *

It was later that night, after supper and an ineffectual telling off from Governor Swann for exploring the lower decks, that Harry suddenly realised he had been incredibly lucky with his entire situation. If being transported here against his will wasn’t bad enough, without Governor Swann and Lieutenant Norrington taking his side against the Captain then he might have had to deal with even more trouble of being a lawbreaker.

It was then that Harry realised, if that did happen, he didn’t have any magic to help him out. A simple spell could unlock a door or seal it shut, but without his wand he couldn’t do anything, Harry was given his magic and now it’s been brutally ripped away from him. His eyes as well, his hands coming up to lightly rub his eye lids, Harry was expecting this new vision is slowly fade away and return him to the slightly blurry world that he was used to, but it hadn’t happened.

He’d been ripped away from everything familiar to him, with no explanation or reason and because of that he didn’t have his wand, couldn’t use his magic and to top it all off, something had changed in his body and he hadn’t realised for almost a full day. Nothing made sense and he couldn’t think of a reason for any of it.

For the first time since learning of how his parents really died, Harry felt like crying. Uncle Vernon was never found of crying, he found it distracting and so Harry had taught himself not to cry, but with everything going on, the loss of the only connection to his parents, his magic, his friends and his life, Harry couldn’t help but cry.

Everything in his life had been left to chance, him surviving was because of his parents, his Hogwarts letter was because of Hagrid saving him, stopping Voldemort was because of his friends and his mother again. He didn’t know how long he’d been crying; his tears had reached Lieutenant Norrington’s bed but not for that long as they hadn’t yet soaked into the rough fabric, or whatever this was made of.

Harry only had a couple of days before The Dauntless came into harbour and he couldn’t leave his life up to chance anymore. Everyone around him had been living his life, The Dursley’s, Hogwarts and now this. Rolling over to lie on his back, Harry stared up at the wooden ceiling, remembering the determination in Will Turner’s eyes, remembering his first year of Hogwarts. He was a Gryffindor, he charged forward and didn’t let fear control him, he was done letting his fear control him.

* * *

“Welcome to Port Royal, children.” Governor Swann said chipperly as he watched the bustling port flow around him, walking steadily with Harry and Elizabeth either side of him. “We’re yet to reach the manor but take a moment to feel yourself back on solid ground.”

Looking over at Elizabeth, it seemed that she felt a lot like he did. Solid ground wasn’t all that great. Having been on a boat for the first time, even in such dire circumstances, Harry much preferred the ebb and flow of the sea over the harsh rock of the ground, it reminded him of flying in a way. Governor Swann didn’t seem to notice though, as he directed several servants in carrying their things around.

It had been two days since Harry had reaffirmed himself. He took the rest of the trip in a similar carefree fashion but took to asking Crewmate Gibbs more and more questions on running the ship and sailors’ rumours. Elizabeth enjoyed hearing about the kraken and ghost ships but was more than a little bored about the correct way to tie a knot.

“Come now” Governor Swann said merrily as he walked back over to the pair, “We need to take a quick trip to the harbourmaster before being on our way.”

The trip to the harbourmaster was short, because he was waiting only a few steps away for Governor Swann at a small stand. The two had a quick discussion where Harry and Elizabeth were distracted by the familiar sight of Will Turner walking off with Mr Brown into Port Royal, the boy had only put a hand up in greeting, which the two returned, not allowing any last words between them as he was whisked away by his still drinking master.

“All settled,” Governor Swann proclaimed as he returned, “Mr Potter, you are now officially registered as my ward until such a time as your family can come and collect you. Now, we must be off to the manor, I have urgent business I must attend to before the end of the day.”

Governor Swann walked behind the two and marched them towards a carriage where the three entered to be taken to their new home. Though in Harry’s case he viewed it as a temporary home, he had talked to Governor Swann before they docked what would happen to him, worried about being taken somewhere he would have a harder time reaching the magical world. When Governor Swann’s plan to have Harry enter under his legal protection, Harry instantly agreed, feeling some semblance of power in being able to make a choice, and tried to be more polite by thanking him for his generosity.

Harry knew he wasn’t going to be manipulating people anytime soon, especially not like that, but it reaffirmed in his mind that he was going down the right path. Finding the magical world and using magic to return home was the best option, despite finding Elizabeth’s carefree and playful nature magnetic in nature, Harry knew he needed to return home.

He noticed Elizabeth talking the entire ride, looking out at the growing port town and wondering about almost every building and pondering the stories being told. Harry noticed Governor Swann’s smile, causing Harry to frown. It was like the Governor hadn’t seen his daughter so happy and animated in a long time. This itself caused Harry to frown at the girl, she had seemed so cheerful the past week, anything else just seemed unnatural to him.

The carriage suddenly ground to a halt as Governor Swann exclaimed, “Ah, we’re here!” as the sound of gates opening behind them announced itself with a loud grinding creak, the two turned and stood up in their seats, to the protests of Governor Swann, and saw the large manor house come into view.

The white three-story structure was massive, with multiple balconies and many windows that held a dozen or more rooms. The front steps looked like they were carved from marble, pure white in colour with hardly any engraving. The flower beds and trees surrounding it ones of careful maintenance and hard work, which Harry would know from how much work it took on Aunt Petunia’s small flower bed. Whilst nothing on an ancient magical castle, it was still an impressive sight.

Governor Swann smiled, the first true smile since the passing of his wife just over a year ago and stepped off the carriage to open to doors to the manor inside.

“Welcome to the Caribbean”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was technically the end of my first day of writing this. I think I finished the first draft of this at 2am which is probably why it ends on the "Welcome to the Caribbean", I remember really wanting to get that in somewhere and I didn't have the heart to change it on my passes through. Now don't expect the film to start in the next chapter, whilst the film benefits from the time-skip the story wouldn't. Having all of Harry's problems solved and then plonking him into the Pirates films is the opposite from what I want. That's also not saying I'm going to go through day by day of the next 8 years of the story, there's a grey area and that's where I'm going to aim for.
> 
> Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed.


	5. Port Royal I

**November 17 th, 1720**

It has been three months since Harry had been stranded in time and in the Caribbean, and while he hadn’t spent the entire time having fun and running around with Elizabeth and the occasional noble child, Harry couldn’t remember a time he had been happier.

Even in Hogwarts, Harry was haunted by the idea of what could’ve been. His mother and father alive, sending letter to and from family, giving gifts and having fun with Ron over at his house, these thoughts always came into his mind as he watched his friend talk with his brothers and send post home; but here, Harry felt freer than he ever had.

It was hardly any more than an hour a day he got to spend with Elizabeth, Governor Swann having paid for tutors for both, going over their ‘future’ lives. Harry knew it grated on Elizabeth, all the lessons on how to ‘comport oneself’, but her father insisted and enforced them with as much gravitas as the man could summon when it came to his daughter. He hadn’t yet needed to take any measures with Harry, who was practically eating up everything that was thrown at him.

The main reason being, Harry didn’t know anything about the time he was supposed to have been born in and had decided to copy the smartest person he knew, Hermione. It was her knowledge and studying that got him and Ron through most of his first year, either during exams or the hunt for the stone, and now he was without her help and without magic if learning how to formally introduce himself was something that could help him out, Harry would learn it.

The second reason was that Harry was using his time to look for hints of magic. The Leaky Cauldron couldn’t be seen by normal people back in his time, magic was used to hide in plain sight, and Harry had spent looking for such buildings on his trips to visit Will Turner. It was between Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann that Harry had found friends. Will was like him, determined to do something, a goal he had in his heart that he wouldn’t be swayed from. He had been spending the past months learning as much as he could as quickly as he could, like Harry, and was quickly moving through his master’s basic instructions in the technicalities of being a blacksmith. Will was more determined to learn sword fighting though, dragging Harry into practice whenever he went to visit.

Elizabeth was almost totally different. She didn’t have a burning mission like Will or Harry, but a need for freedom and adventure, often, she dragged Harry with her as she went off exploring the island. She never managed to get too far, guards always taking her back to the manor as she turned into the wrong street or drew the wrong attention at the wrong time. Elizabeth hated being stuck inside, forced to play the perfect young woman. Harry wished he could do something, but he couldn’t.

What he could do, was study. He was being taught proper etiquette by a tutor, as well as more reading and ‘arithmetic’ by another, though neither were needed since Harry was doing more complex maths before he was at Hogwarts. In his spare time, between visits to Will, ‘Adventures’ with Elizabeth and suppers with the Swann family, Harry was reading up on whatever Governor Swann had on sailing.

His current plan was to go to the dock, get a boat, and sail to another island and search for signs of magic there and repeating that until he found a sign or magic, or it found him. It would be difficult, but Governor Swann had taken him to a tailor, who took many hours to take his measurement and many more days to fit him for clothes, and Harry was confident that they would keep him warm whilst at sea. Food and water could just be taken from the Manor’s kitchens before he left and wouldn’t be too much of a hassle either.

He was feeling guilty though, Harry was enjoying his time with the Swann’s, he didn’t expect to make friends that lived over 200 years before he was born, but Harry had come to enjoy sitting with Elizabeth in the manor, talking with Will about his latest project or trying to hit him with the one wooden sword he had, trying not to laugh as Governor Swann failed to punish his daughter. They were becoming his friends, people he liked spending time with. He was happy, he couldn’t remember laughing this much anywhere outside Hogwarts and yet now Harry sometimes walked around with a smile just because.

Putting his book down, a book on the most common and complex knots used at sea, Harry moved towards where he knew Elizabeth was finishing her studies for the day. He was normally allowed some independent time, to go and be “boisterous”, but Elizabeth had a much stricter timetable, being kept until the mid-afternoon. Harry knew it was on the request of Governor Swann, to limit her time so she couldn’t get into too much trouble without him around to attempt to stop her.

Instead, he saw her leaning on the railing of the second story watching the servants’ bustle around preparing for supper. He knew if anyone saw her, she’d be told off for being unladylike since slouching wasn’t something a lady did, Harry had gathered that appearances were everything for posh people, especially posh people in 1720, and looking like you belonged was half of belonging somewhere. Tentatively walking over, Harry joined her leaning on the railing, looking at her rather than at the servants.

“You’re planning to leave, aren’t you?” Elizabeth says, the saddest Harry had ever heard her. Turning to face him, he can see moisture in her eyes, unshed tears as she pushes away from the railing to stand up straight, “I saw you reading about knots and I know you’ve been reading about sailing and maps for a while now. I just thought it was because of what happened, but you’re going to leave aren’t you?”

Panicking, Harry quickly moves towards Elizabeth, who herself turns away and starts walking towards a backroom, “N-no,” He stutters as he walks alongside her, “N-no I’m, I’m not planning to leave, it’s just an interest that’s all, to find out what happened.”

A sad choked laugh escapes Elizabeth’s mouth as she turns into a room, “You’re a terrible liar, Harry Potter.” The door slams behind them as Elizabeth wipes her eyes, turning to Harry as she suddenly seems invigorated, “So when are we leaving?”

“What?” Harry blurts out as his mind comes to a grinding halt, plans of trying to cover up his impending escape stopping and crashing into the walls of his brain like some slapstick comedy show.

“You’re going to sail somewhere,” Elizabeth explains to Harry, in a very condescending and somehow teasing tone, “and you’ll need help, so I will help you. We are friends after all.”

Harry smiles slightly at hearing this, she was his friend, so was Will, he was going to miss them when he returned home. “Well, I was going to sail towards Saint-Domingue and start my search for my, uh, family, there.” Harry hoped he managed to cover his slip up of magic, though he doubted it, even if Elizabeth didn’t seem to care.

Elizabeth seemed fascinated, “Well when are you planning it?” She asked quickly, moving closer to Harry as he took a step back from the far too excited young girl, “What do you think we’ll need? Are you planning to sneak out? How are you going to get a ship?”

He watched her ask all these questions, her mind already starting to think of answers as she walked closer and closer to Harry, as he stepped further and further back until he was almost at the windows.

“Well, uh” Harry began, cutting off Elizabeth’s train of thought, “There was a boat at the dock, I mean, there are always boats at the dock, but one that would small enough not to be missed by anyone.”

Elizabeth stopped, looking sharply at Harry, “Were you going to leave without saying anything Harry?”

Harry boggled. Was he going to leave, without so much as a ‘thank you’ to Governor Swann? He’d noticed the boat down by the dock a couple of nights ago, after a visit to Will and had thought of how it was the perfect opportunity. Could he have gone through with it without her commenting on it? Looking at Elizabeth, Harry wasn’t sure, he could’ve left at any point over the last few days but didn’t. He stayed, even though the best chance he had to get home was to travel to another, more magical, port.

“I don’t know,” He said honestly, brow tightening in confusion as he stared past Elizabeth, “I’ve been thinking about it, about looking to find a way home but-“ Harry stopped as he focused on Elizabeth, who now looked concerned and slightly sad, something Harry didn’t like to see.

“I wouldn’t have left without saying goodbye, Elizabeth.” Harry almost promises, “We’re friends.”

Suddenly, Elizabeth is holding Harry’s hand, something that he realises is a big deal in 1720. Physical touching of any kind between a boy and a girl is something that his, so called, etiquette teacher has said is ‘unproper’ for people of their standing. Harry smiles slightly as he looks down at Elizabeth’s hand clasped around his, the sun having started its descent behind him and warming his neck.

“Tonight then,” Elizabeth confirms, “We’ll sneak out and take the boat towards Sainte-Domingue to look for your family.”

Looking up at her again, Harry remembers his words from the Dauntless. Fear won’t control him. They can totally do this.

“Tonight”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short and sweet? Maybe, maybe not. It is possibly the shortest chapter so far and it's because I liked the ending too much and didn't have the heart to change it. You may note the date at the top as well, this isn't something I missed from the last chapters and added in now for flair, I think I'm going to go with artistic flair with Harry being more connected to the time he is living in. Keeping track of the date and all that, helps me keep track of where they are on the rough timeline I have mapped out on a piece of paper somewhere as well.
> 
> I should also note here that I'm not the best at writing dialogue for adults, so dialogue for children is probably out of my set of skills. I'm doing what I can to show their age, but that is way harder than I thought it would be and in some of the more dialogue heavy segments I haven't really got a good pace for it yet. Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll get back to writing.


	6. Port Royal II

**November 17 th, 1720**

Harry waited in the shadows of the grand entrance, sequestered away from any lingering servants as he waited for Elizabeth to arrive. Dressed in his new clothes from Governor Swann, era appropriate linen shirt and what he heard the tailor call ‘breeches’ that were surprisingly comfortable, Harry looked like a noble boy dressed in a light red and white combination.

Clink

Harry startled only slightly at the sound; Elizabeth having snuck up on him too many times for him to startle easily anymore. _How has it taken only a few months to think so highly of her_ , Harry thought as he peered around the corner looking for who, or what, made that noise. _Though it did take less time for Ron and Hermione_ , he reasoned as he spotted nothing, no sign of her yet.

_But they were from MY time, not the past_ , Harry argued with himself as he snuck back around the corner to see Elizabeth suddenly behind him, causing him to jump slightly at her appearance, but not as much as he had in the past. Glaring lightly at her, Harry pointed towards the door, trying to signal them to leave as Elizabeth just rolled her eyes and started walking. _It doesn’t matter if she’s from the past,_ Harry reasoned again, _she’s my friend, that should be enough_.

The voice didn’t reply as Elizabeth quietly pried the door open and walked through, Harry only slightly behind as the two crept out of the front door of the manor and walking towards the slightly ajar front gate. After they were the other side of the gates and a safe distance away from the manor, Harry sighed, can’t quite believing they managed to get away so smoothly, he couldn’t imagine it going as smoothly if he was on his own.

“Next stop, the port.” Elizabeth replied excitedly, the hem of her dress skirting the muddy road as the pair walked the familiar route, for Harry, towards the dock and the blacksmith.

They walked in silence as they watched some drunkards pass them by, as well as the lamps of some guards down an alley, not wanting to draw attention to themselves, they kept a fast pace and were quickly at the docks.

Only a few lights remained this late, most sailors having gone to either the pub or to bed for a journey at first light. As such, there wasn’t a harbourmaster keeping watch or anyone guarding the entrance like normal. Harry and Elizabeth snuck up slowly, trying not to be well as to get a good look at anyone possibly hanging around the dock this late. After spotting nobody, Harry turned to an excited Elizabeth, with a worried look.

They had packed food, enough for possibly a week, and Harry knew that they would have to ration it if something went wrong. They also had several canteens with water filled, Harry knew that seawater wasn’t good for drinking; but it wasn’t the supplies that worried Harry, it was how Elizabeth would react once out in the sea without her father to help her if something went wrong.

Harry compared Elizabeth to Hermione sometimes, in the way that they refused to back down and sought more for themselves. He also sometimes saw the fear within her eyes that Hermione had when Ron made fun of her and looking at her now, her visible excitement at the prospect of an adventure at sea, he saw the same fear Hermione had when facing the troll; and suddenly, Harry wasn’t sure this was a good idea.

He looked down at the ground and silently grumbled to himself, he could have left at any point in the past few days and already been on his way towards a possible way home… but he hadn’t. Why not? Harry knew that he knew, he could feel it, but as he tried to shape his thoughts, he could only understand one thing.

“Elizabeth,” Harry spoke softly, causing his friend to turn to him, the fear all the clearer now, from what Harry didn’t know, “let’s go back.”

Harry had expected shock, but he didn’t expect anger from her in response to that. It was only his seeker reflexes that allowed him to miss the weak slap that Elizabeth directed his way. _What is she slapping me for?_ He asked himself as he saw her face get red.

“Go back? Why?” Elizabeth said in anger, her tone rising as she looked at him, emotions swirling over he faces too fast for him to read, “Because you don’t think I can handle it? Because I’m a delicate little girl who can’t swim as well as you can? Is that why?”

“No, Elizabeth” Harry rushed quickly, moving closer to her, “No, that’s not what I think, you know that.” His words stop mollified her enough for him to explain himself. “You’re incredible and you know more about pirates and the Caribbean than I ever could, but this isn’t right, sneaking off like this it. It’s wrong.”

Harry took a deep breath and closed his eyes, he imagined Hogwarts. Gryffindor tower filled with laughter and Ron and Hermione arguing in the corner over some meaningless homework assignment, Neville looking after some plant for Professor Sprout, Dean and Seamus playing a game of Gobstones as Fred and George annoy Oliver Wood by throwing enchanted paper balls at him.

He imagined all this, and with great effort, opened his eyes to see Elizabeth, looking at him with concern. Letting out a shaky breath, Harry looked over to the dock, the chance for him to find a way back, before firmly saying, “I want to get on that boat, sail away and find something, anything that can point me towards my family, but it isn’t right. Governor Swann has cared for me these past months and leaving without even telling him is… wrong.” Harry turned back to Elizabeth, his head pounding that he couldn’t tell you what she was feeling, tears welling in her eyes as she looked over at the boat as well.

“Dragging you along with me, putting you in danger after you’ve been such a good friend to me, that would be even worse.” Harry finished, standing up and forcing Elizabeth with him, smiling weakly at her, Harry went to speak again when a voice cut through every thought he had to the bone.

“Very well said Mr Potter,” Governor Swann said calmly, like Dumbledore in the Hospital wing, “I’m glad to see those tutors are paying off after all.”

Harry and Elizabeth stilled as they faced a stony faced and calm Governor Swann, escorted by a few soldiers that Harry had seen around the estate, who looked at the pair in annoyance. This wasn’t good.

* * *

“You show remarkable resolve Mr Potter,” Governor Swann started as he stood by his desk, Harry trembling only slightly as he stood next to a sitting Elizabeth, who was taking this a lot worse. “Maturity as well, unlike any I’ve seen in a child your age, truly remarkable.”

Governor Swann’s office was much like his cabin on the Dauntless, decorated with gold and colour every which way. The sparse candlelight mixed ominously with the moonlight as Governor Swann sat himself behind his desk, his large chair giving him a large presence in the room.

“I must first say, that I am disappointed in the both of you,” Governor Swann said clearly as he motioned for Harry to sit, which he did with a dull thunk, “you planned to run away to god knows where, with a small bundle of perishable food and a dingy. Neither of you know this but we’ve been expecting a small stormfront the past few days and if you set off now you both could’ve been caught and drowned in it.”

Harry gulped, now that he thought about it, there were more ships in the dock than normal, though he chalked that up to it nearing Christmas and nobody wanting to leave their families until after celebrations.

“Whilst I have been lenient on you in the past, you especially Elizabeth,” Governor Swann said cautiously as he watched his tremoring daughter, “this is quite more serious and will require a harsher punishment than before.” Taking a quick breath, Governor Swann looks at both Harry and Elizabeth in turn before continuing, “As of tomorrow, you will be confined to the house and any and all trips or playful excursions will be with the escort of one or more guards to make sure you don’t attempt to run away again.”

Harry looked down in relief, under guard was a lot better than he was hoping for. It was then that Harry heard the shocked gasp from his left and turned to see Elizabeth wearing a look of shock, she loved going out and exploring the jungles around Port Royal, such a guard would put a stop to that for some time.

“I know this may seem harsh Elizabeth,” Governor Swann immediately placated to his daughter, “but after a few months, I’ll remove the guard and you can continue with your,” Governor Swann coughed as the words catch on his throat, “playful adventures, then. What has happened tonight isn’t something to be taken lightly and-“

Governor Swann is stopped as Elizabeth stands up and runs from the room, Harry turning in his seat and getting up, thinking of going after her before stopping and turning back to Governor Swann, who is now looking down at his desk in despair. The two in a tense silence as Harry watches the Governor visibly pull himself together.

“Now Harry,” Governor Swann says politely, once again gesturing to the seat, “I can understand your desire for information, I find it admirable that you’ve taken to the tutors like you have, even if Elizabeth might not appreciate a more academic nature.” Laughing at his own joke, Harry takes a breath that he didn’t know he was holding.

Governor Swann then turns serious, a sad look on his face as he looks at Harry, “Sadly though, I’m not as blind as you believe. I knew you were planning to make a getaway, your tutors had seen what books you were selecting and after having servants watch you for the past few weeks it’s grown obvious that you have grown restless without answers.”

_He’s known this entire time?_ Harry thought as he stilled in his seat, _why didn’t he say anything? What was he waiting for?_

“I was hoping your continued friendship with my Elizabeth and Mr Turner from Mr Brown’s Blacksmith would keep your patience long enough for me to finish arranging a few things.” Governor Swann continued as he stood up and moved towards a large antique globe and lifted it up to reveal stacks of papers, one of which he picked up, “Though I suspect my darling daughter caught on and demanded a getaway sometime today, it has always been a prickly day for her.” Governor Swann muttered, seemingly thinking to himself.

“Nevertheless, despite the little mishap tonight, I have found myself having a soft spot for you as well and I had managed to get a tentative agreement with the Commander of the Dauntless to have you serve as a Cabin Boy,” Governor Swann presented, a letter pushed across his desk, “Captain Davis was tentative at first but Commander Norrington managed to bend his ear once he heard of your increasing need to travel.”

Harry looked at the letter, reading about him possibly joining for a voyage upon their return in January. Looking up at Governor Swann opened mouthed, Harry stuttered, “I-I, Sir, I.”

“Nothing to say Harry,” Governor Swann said graciously, “Of course, as punishment we’ll have to delay this until their next in port, sometime in June; after all, if we could get away with everything without a punishment, then the world would quickly devolve into chaos.”

Harry stared down at his feet, his new shoes mockingly reflecting his red face back at him as he lets out a muttered “Yes, sir.” He felt that Elizabeth got off lightly with not having to wait 7 months before getting her punishment revoked, though he wouldn’t say that to her, not after tonight.

“You’re a good boy, Harry.” Governor Swann comments as he motions Harry up, escorting him to the door, “Stopping yourself before getting onto the boat to help Elizabeth, I couldn’t possibly know how hard it was to trade the possibility for answers for someone else’s happiness.”

Gryffindor common room flashed before his eyes, as did the faces of his parents staring back at him from the Mirror of Erised. He’d given up bigger things before, hadn’t he?

“It’s like I said sir,” Harry started shakily, reaching the door with Governor Swann, tired from a full day and night, the moon seeming as bright as the sun as it shone through the dark entrance room, “It wasn’t the right thing to do.”

Governor Swann only smiled, looking up briefly to the railing, forcing Harry to look as well to see nothing as he heard Governor Swann smile, “Right you are Harry, now off to bed. Busy day tomorrow after all.”

Harry suppressed a groan as he slowly marched up the stairs, conscious of the Governor’s eyes still on him as he rounded the corner. Taking a deep anxious and shaky breath as he almost sprinted to his room and closed the door, _stupid Harry, stupid_ , he berated himself, thinking of all the ways it could’ve gone differently.

He needed to think smarter, not just rush into things, take some time to plan a little before acting. Governor Swann knew from the start, Harry didn’t have a chance… this time; but in the future, if he was smarted, then he wouldn’t be as fearful as he was on their tense walk home. He made a vow after all, fear wasn’t going to control him and now, all he had to do was wait for the Dauntless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not entirely sure I'm happy with this chapter. It took me a while to write the first time as well as several re-writes and edits as well and I'm still not happy with it.
> 
> That being said, I didn't want to keep working it over, changing a paragraph, adding another or a single line of dialogue. It got to a point where I was literally re-writing the same section and putting the same thing in a different way, so I'm putting it up and living with the possible fact that it might seem a bit odd looking back on it. I'd be interested to see what you think of it, it's possibly the most dialogue heavy chapter so far and I'm not the best at writing character dialogue.
> 
> I'm still working on the story as well, I forced myself to stop so that I didn't burn out and trash the entire thing so I suppose that's a victory for creative management? I won't promise any update deadlines because they're traps for disappointment but I'm not planning to leave for months and months unless something life changing happens. Which I suppose is an update deadline, funny sort of place.


	7. Port Royal III

**November 22 nd, 1720**

Things were tense in the Governor’s Manor. Whilst Governor Swann had seemingly forgotten about the event, Elizabeth and Harry had not, their guard following them almost all over the house as they moved listlessly from their lessons.

Harry’s tutors had taken his attempt at running away harder than his self-appointed father figure had, moaning about how they didn’t want to lose such a diligent pupil whilst also berating him for not thinking about everything correctly. After a while, he just tuned them out, their constant notes on every aspect of this mistake grating on his nerves, especially since he didn’t have anyone to talk about it with since Elizabeth hadn’t talked to him since that night.

Whenever he had attempted to run away from the Dursleys, Harry never managed to get too far before being taken back and was always punished on his own since, well, nobody else was coming with him. Harry felt a little guilty about having brought Elizabeth along, he knew that she had demanded to come along, but he should have known that running off was a terrible idea in the first place and with someone else to possibly look after.

Well, it was all doomed from the start anyway.

After all was said and done, he was a bit relived anyway. Harry didn’t want to return to having to fend for himself, at least not yet, he’d enjoyed eating proper cooked meals and spending time with friends. Not being able to see Will was a problem, Harry had enjoyed his time with the orphan blacksmith in training, but everything other than that felt… normal.

Rolling out of bed, Harry looked at the clock by his bed. Large and covered in gold, he marvelled at how far he had come from the cupboard under the stairs as he slowly moved to get ready for the day. It was something that had him laughing whenever he thought of his relatives, they had ensured that normal was never really an option for him, they were wrong, even if it did take travelling 200 years in the past to prove it to them.

* * *

**November 24 th, 1720**

“You’ve advanced incredibly well over these past months Mr Potter,” Tutor McLaggen proclaimed as he started to pack up his various notes and teaching tools, “You have the reading comprehension of someone three years older than yourself and, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you had learned the arithmetic and sciences we covered before these sessions.”

Harry turned red at his tutor’s words, a hand coming up to ruffle his hair which hadn’t managed to be tamed by the various servants Governor Swann had set to the task. Harry knew that he had learned about most of this stuff in primary school, he had to be to know how to answer just the right amount of questions so he did the same or worse as Dudley, the fact that his tutor was telling him 200 year versions of things that had only gotten more complex made Harry seem like a genius.

“Oh, well” He stammered a little, “I suppose when it’s all you do you pick it up pretty quick.” Harry doubted that it would explain it away, and from the look on his tutor’s face, it didn’t.

“Well, whatever the reason Mr Potter. Keep it up.” Tutor McLaggen advised as he swiftly walked out of the door, the brisk nature of the 1720s still causing Harry some discomfort as he sagged in relief. It was slowly getting easier to pretend he didn’t know what his tutor was talking about, pretending to relearn something was like practicing lying for Harry.

Looking over at the door, he spotted the soldier set to guard him. One of two, the other with Elizabeth, and reasoned that if he was fine standing there, Harry was fine with getting a book and looking up a question he had on navigation in the ocean. After reading every book Governor Swann had on the practical’s of being a sailor, Harry moved onto the larger collection of commanding a ship, which started with learning how to chart a course.

It was on a very informative chapter about reading maps and using something called a calliper to calculate distance, that he heard someone enter the room. Looking up, Harry spotted a weary looking Elizabeth cautiously standing a small distance away from the doors, where their two guards stood looking outwards.

“Elizabeth,” Harry started, standing up as he moved slightly towards her. What could he say? _I’m sorry for getting you caught and trapped inside the manor for possibly months?_ That should go down great.

She looked like she had been crying, eyes slightly red, though she was doing her best not to show it. Back straight and doing her best to hold eye contact as she stood still, their silence filling the room as the two stared at each other, Harry in shock that she had come to him after a week of the two avoiding each other. _Aren’t I supposed to go to her_? He asked himself as he worked up the courage to say something to her, a quick breath later and he decided to break the standoff.

“I’m Sorry.” “I’m Sorry” They said at the same time, each looking at the other in confusion as they unconsciously took a step forward.

“Wait” “What” They said at the same time, again, confusion in their faces as they once again moved forward towards each other, standing in the middle of the room now.

“Why are you apologising?” Harry asked, as he thought of any reason Elizabeth could be apologising. _Maybe her not having talked to me in the past week,_ he argued as he looked at his friend, _I was going out of my way not to run into her though_ , he reasoned. Was there anything for her to be sorry about?

“Why am I apologising?” Elizabeth asked, almost hysterically, as her hands came down to brush her dress, “Because it’s my fault that we’re both getting punished, why are you apologising?”

Goggling at her, Harry opened his mouth, before closing it, before opening it again, before clicking it shut, “Your fault?” He asked incredulously, mind racing though no coherent thought managing to float to the top, “How is it your fault? It was my plan?”

“Well, I forced you into taking me with you,” Elizabeth explained, as if it was obvious, “If I wasn’t there then you could’ve found answers.” She looked down for the first time, like she was ashamed of what had happened, “I was being selfish Harry, and I’m sorry I stopped you from leaving.”

_What?_ Harry thought as he looked at Elizabeth, _It wasn’t all her fault, how can she think that?_

How could he say that to her though, they stood in silence as Harry tried to say something, his mind racing as what to say, not noticing Elizabeth getting more and more upset as the silence continued to grow.

“It wasn’t your fault.” Harry finally said dumbly, his hand coming up to scratch his head, “It was a silly plan to begin with, I wouldn’t have made it out of the bay before being washed back ashore.”

“But if I weren’t there then you wouldn’t have been caught,” Elizabeth responded tiredly, she had seemingly thought this through for days, “It’s my fault my father came looking for us.”

“No, your father knew I was planning something, he told me himself.” Harry confirmed, he remembered the tense conversation he had with the Governor that night, “Either way, it was me that stopped us before we could get to the boat, if I had followed you then we wouldn’t have been caught at all.”

Silence reigned again as Elizabeth digested Harry’s argument, her eyebrows knit tightly together as she thought this all through. For a moment he wondered what was going on in her head, wanted to know what new reason she was finding to blame herself for this rather than him.

Harry then suddenly started feeling a pulling sensation, his vision went slightly blurry as he saw images start flashing by in quick succession before they all cleared, and Harry was once again staring at Elizabeth. Her brown eyes were steeled in resolve as she started walking over towards him, still confused as to what happened, Harry didn’t move until he felt a hand slap his arm.

Not in pain, but unsure of what was going on, Harry let out a noise of complaint as he looked at a now angry Elizabeth. _What happened?_ He asked himself as he moved out of the way of another slap and backed away from the angry girl.

“What did I do?” Harry asked as he backed into his chair, almost tripping over it as he got behind it, using it as a shield as Elizabeth advanced towards him.

“You’re trying to make me feel better by blaming yourself and it’s not going to work.” Elizabeth stated as she stood angrily in front of Harry, who wasn’t scared of her just reasonably cautious.

“Well I think that you’re looking for a way to blame yourself,” Harry replied, a little angrily himself, “for what reason I don’t know but don’t start attacking me because of it.”

Getting ready to dodge out of the way of another angry slap, Harry didn’t expect Elizabeth to start choking back tears. Concerned, Harry quickly moved around the chair and put a hand on her solider, unknowingly guiding her to the same chair that separated them and acted as his impromptu shield. He didn’t know how to deal with crying himself, how was he supposed to deal with someone crying, especially one of his friends.

Kneeling next to her, Harry looked between his crying friend and the slightly closed door and debated going to get someone that could deal with this better than he could; but looking at Elizabeth shrinking into herself and crying, Harry knew he couldn’t leave her and instead took her free hand, the one not trying to stop herself from letting tears fall.

“I’m sorry for that Harry,” Elizabeth said tearily after a while, clearly as uncomfortable as Harry was feeling as well, “I shouldn’t take it all out on you, can you forgive me?”

Harry looked into her eyes; he saw a pain that looked unnatural to him. He didn’t like seeing it and instantly replied, “Of course, Elizabeth.” Before taking a moment, seeing her sag in relief though the pain and tension remained, Harry needed to say something quickly to make sure she didn’t run away and ignore him again, he surprisingly missed her company.

“Only, uh,” He started, watching as Elizabeth tensed up again and Harry rushed to finish so she didn’t think on it too long, “Only if you, uh, forgive me as well.” At her confused look, he elaborated more, “For getting us caught with my silly plan.”

A dry chuckle escaped Elizabeth’s mouth as she relaxed, her hand coming to lightly hit Harry on the shoulder. Harry laughed himself, glad what he said worked on some level, though he didn’t really know what, this entire thing was something he could really use some help learning how to do better, he really missed Hermione.

“I forgive you Harry Potter, especially since it isn’t all your fault,” Elizabeth said teasingly as she sighed and wiped her eyes, red again from her recent crying as she held her hand up to stop Harry from protesting, “No Harry, it is partly my fault, I was feeling… bad tempered that day and couldn’t stop myself when I thought my only friend was going to leave.”

Finding himself suddenly sitting on a chair, _how do I do some of these things without noticing them?_ Harry asked himself before pushing it out of his mind, he looked towards an increasingly emotional Elizabeth who was seemingly bracing herself.

“My mother died a few years ago,” Elizabeth revealed, not to Harry’s shock, he hadn’t met Elizabeth’s mother in the past three months and had assumed the worst, “I can’t remember how, father hadn’t told me until she was already on her deathbed. Though I do remember the day I was woken in the night by him, to tell me...”

Harry couldn’t imagine having a parent and then losing them, he wondered briefly if never knowing them was better than knowing them a little and then having them taken away. Taking her hand, Harry squeezed it tight, unsure of how to give comfort he himself had never received.

“I remember her telling stories, of Cinderella and the lost loves of Italy; but what I loved hearing about were the pirates.” Elizabeth smiled weakly as her eyes glazed over slightly, remembering her mother, sparking fleeting jealousy in Harry, “She loved talking about the great pirate lords, their battles and journeys across the world. She passed that onto me, her love of buccaneers and piracy, something that father was never too fond of.”

He watched as she turned to him, unshed tears in her eyes as she spoke, and she must’ve seen something, because she took a quick breath before saying, “It’s why I wanted to go with you, sailing under the cover of night. It felt like the start of one of the stories she used to tell me, I didn’t mean to drag you into that Harry.”

Surprisingly, Harry didn’t feel like she had dragged him into anything, though saying that would probably get him hit again. Looking at her now though, he understood why she was excited and scared when faced with what they had reached the boat. _What can I say to her?_ Harry thought, thinking back to the times he wished he had someone there for him, remembering the lonely empty feeling that he felt when in the dark cupboard in Privet Drive.

“Fifty-fifty then,” Harry said suddenly, to himself and coincidentally the tearful Elizabeth, “It was partly my fault for coming up with the idea and partly your fault for coming along. Neither of us would’ve gotten in trouble if both of us weren’t there.”

It was as the words settled in, for both, that Harry realised that he had been feeling guilty himself. He was worried, scared almost, that Elizabeth wouldn’t want to talk to him because of what had happened. Turned out she was thinking the same.

“You’re very strange Harry Potter,” Elizabeth stated, causing Harry to look up to see happiness shining through the sadness of her story now, “You could’ve blamed me for everything. Why didn’t you?”

Images of his friends from Hogwarts, of his parents in the mirror flashed by quickly as he unconsciously said, “Because you’re my friend, friends stick by each other and because…”

In that moment, Harry thought of telling Elizabeth about everything, about magic and the future and the fact he wasn’t some noble boy from a reclusive family in England; but looking at her, red-rimmed eyes and a slight smile, Harry knew that he couldn’t put Elizabeth in a position where she would have to lie to her father, the only family she had left.

So instead, he simply said, “I understand.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to post the next chapter on Sunday, but when I went to post it after looking over it for editing I realized that I had spent the past few days editing the chapter that I had already put up. So, after a short delay, I give you these continued adventures, or the continued set-up of the adventures if you want to be mean spirited about it. I've also been a bit busy with a couple of things so I haven't written anything new for the past week, luckily, I have a backlog of about 4 chapters so there shouldn't be a delay unless something stupid like me re-reading the same chapter happens again.
> 
> Comment, review, flame, do whatever you please. Even if I don't reply to your comment I'm still reading it because I'm at heart a person that needs outside validation. I'll post the next chapter, definitely, probably, maybe this Sunday.


	8. Port Royal IV

**December 12 th, 1720**

“He said that he was going to keep us under guard for months,” Harry panted as he leant back a little, “but after Elizabeth started pulling some doe-eyes and pleading he couldn’t keep her inside, I don’t think he even lasted the month.”

A wooden sword swiped down from his left, which Harry instinctively stepped out of the way, hearing an annoyed huff from an equally panting Will Turner, who got back into his stance. After he and Elizabeth made up, their united front against Governor Swann saw their guard removed quickly, which made Elizabeth happy, even if she didn’t go out exploring as enthusiastically anymore. _Maybe her formal lady etiquette training is paying off_ , Harry thought as he dodged another swipe towards his middle.

“That’s good, because I’ve missed you not actually training with me Harry,” Will panted as he got back into his stance, “The whole point of this is to perfect footwork, I can’t do that if you’re going to dodge me all the time.”

Harry rolled his eyes as he brought the other training sword Will had carved in his absence, roughly entering the stance that Will himself had already learned as the two squared off against each other as Will made the first move.

The first blow up high, blocked. Second to the right and left quickly, blocked and blocked. Third to the middle, dodge to counter to the left then right. Harry swung his sword towards Will to the left, getting blocked as he quickly moved his sword to the right and getting blocked again. Moving upwards quickly, Harry finished with the downward attack that they’d been practicing for what felt like hours.

Panting, Harry kept his sword up, expecting Will to move through it again before he noticing the apprentice rubbing his wrists lightly and moving away towards the water barrel. Noticing that Will had decided training was over for the day, Harry moved towards him and he watched him take a long drink and another and another.

“You ok there Will?” Harry asked as he placed his ‘sword’ against the nearby pillar, “First time you’ve seen me in almost a month, and you attack me with a wooden stick.”

Gasping for air, Will let the ladle he was using drop into the bucket, as Harry tentatively picked it up for a drink, still not used to sharing water like this.

“I’m fine Harry, good even.” Will stated, walking over towards the sword rack where he put his wooden sword, “I’ve been learning a lot, about sword fighting and smithing. Mr Brown really knows what he’s doing.”

“Yeah, but,” Harry started as he finished his singular ladle of water, “You’re looking a bit tired Will, I can tell you’ve been practicing on your own and the fact you made a second ‘training’ sword makes me think you plan to train more.”

Spotting the look of confusion on Will’s face, “I’m just worried for you, don’t want you keeling over.” He elaborated as he walked over towards Mr Brown’s table, sword designs and papers lightly scattered around an ever-growing pile of bottles.

“I’m fine Harry,” Will assured as he appeared at his side, grabbing bottles and throwing them into a different larger pile, “I’ve only been training for a few hours a day around everything Mr Brown has been teaching me.”

“Well, as long as you’re ok,” Harry resigned himself to saying, whilst Elizabeth was more than happy to talk to him about almost anything, Will was more reserved and focused on a singular goal, he is possibly even more isolated than Harry is, “Maybe you can come up to the manor sometime, I’m sure Governor Swann wouldn’t mind me having a friend around, especially not a boy as well, he complains that I spend too much time with Elizabeth.”

Harry was too busy laughing at his mental image of a blustering Governor Swann as Elizabeth forced him away from whatever he was doing to escort her around wherever she wanted to go to notice Will’s attention perk up at the mention of Elizabeth’s name before he instantly looked to the ground and looked to sweep the floors.

“I don’t know if that would be proper,” Will replied, grabbing a nearby broom and started to lightly sweep stray straw back towards the donkey’s area, doing his best to avoid Harry’s eyes.

“Well, the offer’s open,” Harry added weakly as he went to move towards Will before the blacksmith’s main door opened and Mr Brown staggered in.

The blacksmith was looking a little unbalanced, in both the fact that he stumbled across the room and the way he spoke, his words slurred as he moved towards the back room, mumbling about someone owing him. As quickly as the men entered, he left and it was in his wake that Harry noticed the sun was starting to set, and that Governor Swann said if he wasn’t back before it was dark then his guard would be returned.

“I’ve got to go Will,” Harry said suddenly as he rushed for the door, “I’ll be back in a couple of days though, don’t worry.”

Before Will could respond, Harry was already out of the door and racing the sun to get back to the Governor’s Manor. It wasn’t that he was frightened that Governor Swann would put a guard back on him, the two guards he had set the first time normally argued amongst themselves. No, Harry was more frightened of what Elizabeth would do if she found at that spending too much time ‘play fighting with Will’ caused him to go back under their lax guards.

Bursting through the doors, making the trip from Mr Brown’s Blacksmith to the Governor’s Manor in record time, he was confronted with an amused look Elizabeth who was literally lounging on a nearby chair with a fan.

“Very dramatic entrance Mr Potter,” She commented lightly as she rose slightly from her seat, “Though you lose marks for your ragged looking appearance,”

She walked up to him and flattened his hair as she closed the large double doors on the quickly setting sun. Harry sighed as he re-ruffled his hair his way and turned to her with a sigh, and only slightly panting.

“I’m glad I can amuse you so Miss Swann,” He replied haughtily as he did a slight bow in her direction, “May I entertain you in any other way?”

“Well, you can answer a question for me,” Elizabeth replied in an equally uptight manor as she glided back towards her chair, _lounge chair?_ Harry thought, _I’m sure that has a name_.

“Of course,” Harry said dramatically as he followed her over, “I’m at milady’s disposal.”

Elizabeth took a moment to regain her previously comfortable position, not hiding her amused smile very well, though he doubted he was doing much better. Elizabeth had a complicated relationship with the higher lifestyle that her father was involved in, with Harry, she could make fun of it all she liked and he wouldn’t complain about it since he found it as equally ridiculous.

“Do you still want to search for your family at sea?” She asked, with a sudden and unexpected clarity.

“What?” Harry replied dumbly as he looked at her, _where was this coming from?_

“I asked father the other day about the possibility of going to look for any family or signs of your family in the Caribbean.” Elizabeth explained as she continued to fan herself, seemingly unconcerned with the change in topic, “He mentioned there might be a place with you upon the Interceptor now that Commander Norrington is to be made Captain after Captain Davis’ retirement.”

“Uh, why do you ask?” Harry asked, he hadn’t really thought about going back to sea since their failed attempt to run away. He was torn really; it was why he hadn’t thought about it too much. On the one hand, he wanted to return home to be with his friends, his own time and maybe have a shower as well; but at the same time, Harry really enjoyed spending time with Elizabeth. Will as well, even though they were over 200 years removed from when he was born, Harry felt like he connected better with them than he had connected with Ron and Hermione.

He had continued to look for magic within Port Royal, but it was quickly becoming clear that magic either wasn’t or had been run out of Port Royal for a little while now. Not a single shop, pub or rumour of anything magical within the port town. Harry knew that the only way he was going to return home was if he could find somewhere with magic users that could help him return to his time.

“We’ve all noticed it Harry,” Elizabeth sighed as she sat forward again, “You’re looking for something, a hint of your parents or family, maybe something else. I asked father about it and he agrees that you’re becoming restless about it all.” Moving her legs, Elizabeth gently pats the space next to her before tapping it a bit more forcefully when Harry doesn’t sit down.

“Elizabeth I –“ Harry starts before being cut off by a raised hand for the girl. _Do I have the face of someone that just lets themselves be interrupted?_ Harry thought as he closed his mouth, getting a little annoyed at how often people cut him off.

“You don’t need to explain Harry, you should know that I would know better than anyone else what it feels like to want more.” Elizabeth started, slightly staring off into the distance, “Especially since you don’t know what happened to the ship that you were sailing on, it’s only natural to want to find answers.”

“Elizabeth,” Harry spoke softly.

“I mean, who even knows if your parents survived whatever happened to you, it would be torturous not to know what happened to them, possibly even worse than finding out their fate.” Elizabeth rambled; another argument seemingly already created in her mind as she talked at Harry.

“Elizabeth,” Harry said a little louder.

“If it were me, I would think I’d go mad not knowing about my mother.” Elizabeth rambled, not noticing Harry’s more and more agitated state, “Not having spoken to her before she died. So I want to help you however I can to get answers about your par-“

“Elizabeth!” Harry shouted, finally gaining her attention as her forced her to look at him, relief, anger, embarrassment and concern somehow all running through him at the same time. “It’s not my parents I’m looking for.”

_What?_ Harry thought as he tried to think what would possess him to say that.

“What?” Elizabeth unknowingly mimicked herself

“Uh,” Harry drawled, “Well, my parents may have died when I was a baby.” He finished quickly, removing his hands for Elizabeth’s shoulders as he spotted a servant walking into the room before trying to discreetly make it seem like she was passing by into another room and not checking up on the disruption.

“Baby?” Elizabeth said dumbly as she looked at Harry, he could see her out of the corner of his eye, and he refused to look up at her. _Not how I imagined this to go_ , he thought.

“It’s not something I like to talk about,” Harry admitted, never having talked to anyone about it, “They died when I was a baby and I’ve been living with relatives ever since.”

“Oh Harry,” Elizabeth said apologetically, which grated slightly on Harry. He didn’t need the pity; ever since he found out about Voldemort and the real deaths of his parents, Harry knew that they loved him more than anything and, more importantly, that the Dursleys were wrong about him.

“It’s fine,” Harry snapped, maybe a little too aggressively as he saw Elizabeth shrink back a little bit. Taking a breath, Harry took his anger away and let out a ragged breath as he turned to Elizabeth again and said a lot calmer, “It’s fine, really.”

Elizabeth seemed unsure, looking skeptically at him before something changed and she let out a proclamation, “Well now you have to go Harry, return to your family, they must be worried about you.”

He almost scoffed at hearing that but knew that Elizabeth was trying to comfort him. It wasn’t her fault that his family hated him, the closest thing he had to a family were the Weasley’s, and he had only met Mrs Weasley twice.

Harry couldn’t deny that he wanted to return home, he’d been walking through the past few months like he was in a dream, the comfort of the Governor’s Manor made him feel safe; but he knew that he didn’t belong here. Sooner or later he would slip-up and say something that revealed too much, that and he didn’t like hiding secrets from Elizabeth, she was too nice to be lied to like he was lying to her.

Looking into her eyes, Harry wondered what would happen after he left. Going back to 1992 meant he could look up what she did with her life, she would have lived decades and he would still remember annoying her father by running off into a store to look through their _curios_ as she put it. It was strange to consider and Harry thought that it was rather unfair to have made friends that he would never see again when he was to return home.

“Supper time now children,” Governor Swann said suddenly from behind them, marching out of his office with more spring in his step than he had in days as he ushered Harry and Elizabeth into the dining room.

Sparing a glance at Elizabeth, he felt sad that if he were to go off to search for ‘his family’ and magic, then he might never see her again. Sitting at the table, across from her, he gave her a weak grin as he saw a meticulously prepared meal placed in front of him as he whispered a soft “Thank you” to the servant. He never noticed the look that Governor Swann was giving him.

* * *

_Dear Governor, Weatherby Swann,_

_We have no child, grandchild or relative that goes by the name of Harry._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Lord William Potter_

Weatherby Swann had received the letter a few days ago, one of countless from the most recent mail ship. It was one of most consternation to him since he didn’t want his suspicions to have been confirmed in such a direct manner.

He knew that Harry wasn’t what he seemed to be, the boy was hiding something that scared him and nothing anyone could do could force it out of the boy. Looking down at this letter, he had assumed that it was because Harry had been lying about his last name and that he was feeling guilty for taking advantage of his generosity.

It was why he ordered the servants to call him by his last name more often, to see if he tripped up at any point whilst being referred to only as Potter. When he didn’t so much as stumble slightly, the mystery that surrounded Harry Potter only deepened, how did a boy who believed himself to be a Potter but not actually _be_ a Potter come to be in his care.

When he heard Harry and Elizabeth having a rare fight, Weatherby instantly went to protect his daughter from this unknown boy. Instead, he managed to overhear their conversation, a tragic past indeed. Parents killed when he was only a babe was something but living with relatives rather than being fostered with the Lord Potter was quite strange.

At that news, he had turned back to his office and taken hold of the letter that had plagued him for days. Harry Potter had, over the course of the last months, gotten into his heart, the boy seemed as confused as he did about his situation and had even gone to the trouble of trying to sail his own dingy to find answers.

Striding over, Weatherby Swann tossed the letter into the fire, watching as it quickly turned to ash and out of his life. A huge weight lifted off of him as he watched it burn, the Potters may not acknowledge or even care about this boy, but it was clear that Elizabeth had and he was lying only to himself if he didn’t see how much he liked the curious and determined young boy.

Whatever secrets Harry Potter had, they would come out in their own time and Weatherby Swann hadn’t come as far as he had because of skill at governance alone. It was his instincts that helped him get this far. Instinct had sometimes helped him more than skill and his instincts were telling him to trust the self-proclaimed Potter.

_Who am I to go against that?_ He asked himself as he took a deep relieved breath in and marched out of his office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A week late? Oops. I've been a tad busy and I'm actually posting this rather quickly before I have to go off somewhere. I finished my final pass of this yesterday in the spare time that I had, back to writing this weekend hopefully and hopefully another chapter for you Sunday. I'll reply to any comments when I get a moment but just remember that I'm not a professional writer so mistakes, structure and pacing may be off because sometimes I have no idea what I'm doing.
> 
> Review and Comment to your hearts content, I always see them and do my best to respond where I can.


	9. Port Royal V

**December 25 th, 1720**

Harry had only ever previously experienced Christmas through the slats in his cupboard and at Hogwarts, two totally opposite and unique, in their own way, experiences that didn’t really prepare Harry for any other kind of Christmas.

There wasn’t much expectation of a Christmas for him to be totally honest, he didn’t have any money to get anyone anything and he was pretty sure that he heard a rumour that an American company had created Christmas to sell more products, so he wasn’t even sure if it was a thing in 1720.

Waking up at his usual time of six in the morning, Harry moved to get dressed when he spotted a small card next to his clock which was written in the usual scrawled mess that Harry had to learn to read over the last few months.

_Harry,_

_Breakfast at 7-am sharp for morning gifts._

_Governor Weatherby Swann_

It wasn’t a surprise to him that there would be some form of Christmas, he had spotted a few things that he could see changing over the next 200 years into what he knew. Maths, science and a few words that were longer here than back in his time, what had surprised him was the part that mentioned _morning gifts_. Christmas from what he saw of the Dursley’s and Hogwarts was mostly just opening everything as quickly as possible before eating as much as possible before you fell asleep.

Harry would be the first to admit that he wasn’t always the smartest person in the room, but even he could understand that _morning gifts_ meant that there were going to be future gifts past the morning and he didn’t know how to feel about that. When Ron’s mum had knitted him a sweater, Harry felt like he needed to send something back to her, now with Governor Swann and possibly even Elizabeth having gotten him something…

It was with a sense of dread and guilt that Harry got ready, washing as well as he could with what he had. Six fifteen. Putting on clothes that he had allowed Governor Swann to buy for him, multiple sets and colours that he knew Will didn’t have. Six thirty. Sitting on his bed watching the clock tick, he didn’t have anything to give them, or really anything to offer past himself. How had he gone from saying he’d be in control of his fate to being worried about Christmas presents.

It was just before quarter to seven that there was a light knock on his door, which gave way to a fully dressed and, once again, excited Elizabeth. She was dressed in a light blue dress, one of her more informal formal ones. Learning about the levels of formality was something that Harry still struggled with, the idea that you can have formal clothes was easy, but formal clothes that were also casual and informal around friends was something he still hadn’t picked up.

“Good morning Harry,” Elizabeth said politely as she closed the door before rushing over to him and taking a place next to him on his bed, “and a very Merry Christmas to you. I know you’ll love it, father always manages to get you exactly what you want, even if you didn’t know you wanted it before hand.” She managed to bring herself out of her excitement to see the nervousness on his face.

“Harry, what’s wrong?” She asked as she turned, a little awkwardly, to face him on his bed.

“It’s just, I don’t have any, uh, gifts for you,” Harry stumbled as his face turned red in embarrassment, “doesn’t seem right receiving gifts and not giving any back.”

Elizabeth laughed. It wasn’t a surprise to have her giggling at him anymore, most of the time he was doing something stupid, like that time he tried to climb a palm tree and kept sliding back down; but this time it was something that he was worried about and he wondered how this could set her off laughing like this.. Looking up, Harry’s mouth opened as he watched Elizabeth almost roll around on his bed with laughter.

Harry tried to be annoyed, but this was the most he had seen Elizabeth laugh since before their disastrous attempt at ‘escape’ and after a while he found himself smiling as well, even if he didn’t know why. It took Elizabeth a few more minutes after that to finally calm down and reduce herself back to lightly giggling.

“I’m glad I can amuse you,” Harry quipped lightly as he smiled slightly as she wiped literal tears from her eyes. It was nice to see this more carefree Elizabeth again, though it wasn’t like she was brooding off in a corner and staring out a window with a forlorn expression, but Harry had seen sadness in her eyes whenever she thought nobody was looking. Seeing her laugh so freely made him happier than he’d like to admit.

“Oh Harry,” Elizabeth said, giggling through her hand, “It’s just, you get the oddest ideas from the weirdest places.”

“What, gift giving?” Harry asked confused, _wasn’t gift giving the whole point of Christmas?_

“Not that specifically,” Elizabeth giggled again, straightening her dress out as she turned back to face him, “the idea of you having to give gifts. Father is the one that gives gifts to us, what we would buy gifts for each other or him with?”

“Uh,” Harry started as he thought, this was his entire problem, he didn’t have any money to buy anything, “Well, I don’t know”

“Exactly,” Elizabeth said, proud of herself for seemingly explaining how Christmas worked. Just as she was about to stand up though, she stopped and looked at him with an unreadable expression, “but maybe you can get me something for next Christmas. Now come on, it’s almost seven and I don’t want to be waiting for you before opening father’s gift.”

Watching in confusion, Harry felt himself getting pulled off his bed and found himself suddenly out of his room. Elizabeth was seemingly done explaining how Christmas should work to him as they now raced through the halls and down the stairs towards yet another new way to celebrate Christmas.

“Oh,” Elizabeth said, as she opened the second of her two boxed gifts from her smiling father, “Thank you father, it’s wonderful.”

Looking at yet another dress, Harry could tell that Elizabeth didn’t mean it all that much. He didn’t know if it was a bad dress or what, but after the first gift she was obviously expecting something more, probably something less dress based, and more pirate based. It was no secret that she had been asking after a book about the tales and fables of the Caribbean, and after her first gift turned out to be a very pretty and expensive looking mirror, she probably expected the second to be a little cheaper.

“It’s the latest designs from London,” Governor Swann boasted as he took a sip of his morning tea, “I was hoping that you would wear it for the upcoming ceremony for the soon-to-be Captain Norrington.”

“Of course, father,” Elizabeth said quickly, putting what little of the dress she took out back in and putting the lid on a little harsher than she probably should, “I’d be happy to.”

Harry looked between the polite face of Elizabeth and the smiling face of Governor Swann and wondered if he should say something. Not being a member of Governor Swann’s family meant that he hadn’t needed to attend any of the formal events and the only one he did was at Elizabeth’s request, which ended in him almost falling asleep during some important person’s speech.

“Now to Harry,” Governor Swann declared as he pushed two similar looking boxes towards him, making him wonder if he should be expecting a mirror and a dress as well, sparing a glance towards Elizabeth lightly glaring at the box that contained her new dress.

Reaching out a hand to the two boxes, Harry suddenly felt the excitement he felt when Ron told him there were presents under the tree for him. Moving towards the larger box first, Harry quickly untied the soft and neat bow that held the lid down and almost reverently placed a hand on either side of the box and lifted it away to reveal… another box.

Looking up, Harry spotted an amused look on Governor Swann’s face, before looking back down and lifting the smaller box out and opening that to reveal paper… and ink and what looked like a quill. Harry rifled through the box a little to spot several other items like wax and some sort of stamp of a big letter _H_.

“I had hoped you’d look in the smaller box first, so this one didn’t seem as confusing,” Governor Swann said at Harry’s confused look, “but you’ll understand more after you open the other one.”

A quick look at Elizabeth’s slight smile only made him more curious as he quickly moved to the significantly smaller box, almost ripping the ribbon off in his haste, to the slight laughter of Governor Swann. Inside the box there was a small piece of card and under that a compass, larger than his hand and as such was a bit difficult to hold. The compass was heavy, a dull looking gold, that had what Harry recognised to be a sundial that seemingly lifted up to help tell the time at sea, lifting it up, he noticed the roman numerals that were on the clock face and was glad he could read them thanks to the tutors that Governor Swann hired for him.

Putting it aside, closer to Elizabeth so that she could get a look at it, no doubt in his mind that she would be interested in it. Harry picked up the small note that came along with it, seeing his name scrawled on the front, Harry turned it over and pried the wax off with a pop.

_Mr Harry Potter,_

_Upon the recommendation of Governor Weatherby Swann, I am formally offering you a place under my command upon my appointment of Captain of His Majesty’s Royal Navy._

_I will accept your reply, in person, in early February upon my return to Port Royal._

_Commander James Norrington_

“You have a little time to decide,” Harry heard Governor Swann say from somewhere as his mind went blank, “Soon to be Captain Norrington won’t be arriving for a few months, having to attend a few last matter with Captain Davis, but upon his return you can join his crew.”

He held the paper, shaking slightly, he didn’t know what to say. The past few months had been incredible but going back to sea was always on his mind and now, this family that had taken him in was giving him an incredible chance. One they didn’t even know about.

“I. You.” Harry stuttered as he looked up to the kind look of Governor Swann, “Thank you sir.” He finished earnestly as he gripped the short note a little tighter.

“It’s the least I could do,” Governor Swann said ominously as he looked over, not so discreetly towards Elizabeth, “Anyway, enough of thanking and gift giving. I have a little work to do before lunch, but after that I’m available for any Christmas fun you can think up.”

Harry turned to Elizabeth, who had picked up his compass as was almost spinning in her seat as she watched the arrow spin and smiling slightly. He thought that if Elizabeth weren’t a girl then she would be getting similar nautical gifts, she loved the sea as much as he did, probably even more. Looking back down to his note, Harry wondered if he could really leave.

It wasn’t long before Elizabeth and Harry retreated to one of their normal spots in an upstairs sitting room. The staff were almost entirely absent, with only some cooks coming in to cook lunch before also leaving for the rest of the day. Sitting alone, Elizabeth’s new mirror and Harry’s compass having made the trip upstairs, they sat in silence as they looked out over an unusually quiet Port Royal.

* * *

**December 28 th, 1720**

“You did something to change your father’s mind,” Harry said into the silence, staring down at the compass and remembering the conversation he had with Governor Swann after he tried to sail on his own. About the then Commander Norrington getting his own ship and command in the new year.

Harry didn’t expect Governor Swann to change his mind and fully expected to have to either wait until he did or attempt to stowaway. Of course, he didn’t really expect being a stowaway would be a good look for him, or that he could even do it. Harry was finding that despite his Gryffindor courage, he quite liked being looked after like any normal child, _though I’m not_ , he reminded himself yet again.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Elizabeth replied as she shifted slightly in her seat.

“The last time I talked to your father about leaving, he mentioned it not happening until sometime in June or July.” Harry elaborated as he turned to look at an awkward looking Elizabeth, “The only person that could change his mind is you, so it stands up to reason that you talked to him about it. I just can’t understand why you would.”

Elizabeth shifted slightly, her mirror coming up to her face to block it from Harry as she seemingly adjusted her hair. Twisting in his seat a little more, Harry saw Elizabeth’s face had gone a little red. _Embarrassed?_ Harry thought as Elizabeth quickly turned to block his view again as he realised what was happening.

“You still feel guilty,” He said in wonder, remembering their conversation they had that should’ve settled this ages ago.

“Not guilty,” Elizabeth instantly replied as her mirror came down into her lap, before she realised, she defended herself too quickly and sagged, “Well, not entirely because of guilt anyway.”

“But you said we didn’t get each other presents,” Harry nearly whined at her, trying to remain calm, he didn’t need the pity, but he knew that she was just trying to be a good friend.

“Well, I also said you could get me a present next year,” Elizabeth muttered sheepishly.

“You didn’t need to do this Elizabeth,” Harry sighed as he stood up and moved to sit next to her, “I could have waited.”

“I know,” Elizabeth replied softly, “But after what you said about your parents I just couldn’t sit by and do noth- “

Harry stood up very suddenly, huffing as he moved away from his annoying friend. _Pity_ , he thought as he moved away, it was something that everyone had for him since he had entered the magical world, _pity and kind words are all everyone has._

“I don’t want your pity Elizabeth,” Harry snapped harshly, and if he was thinking straight then he might’ve stopped there, “is that what all this has been? Pity for the poor lonely orphan boy with no parents?”

Suddenly whipped around, Harry felt and then heard the slap from the angry girl standing in front of him. Raising a hand to his cheek, he regained his senses as her hand came back for another slap and managing to step out of the way before grabbing her hand as it came for him in a third slap.

“Do you think so little of me Harry?” Elizabeth asked, her eyes brimmed with unshed tears, “Do you think that everything has been to reinforce your ego and place in the world?”

Harry looked into Elizabeth’s angry eyes, not seeing the anger but seeing the pain and he knew that he had done this.

“Elizabeth,” Harry said very quietly.

“You’re not the only one with dead parents Harry,” Elizabeth shouted down Harry’s interruption, “Will lost his parents as well and he carries on and works with what he was given.”

“Yeah but he wasn’t given the same treatment because your father didn’t think he was important enough.” Harrys snipped back at her as he let go of her arm and walked to the other side of the room, “If I was anyone else then I’d be on the streets or on a different boat rather than here.”

“Is that what you’d prefer?” Elizabeth said angrily as she walked round to face him again, “You’d prefer to be on the streets than with us? Are we that insufferable to you?”

“No,” Harry said quickly, though not without anger, “I think you’re great, I just wouldn’t want to be here if it was just some gesture to make you look better to everyone else.”

“Not everything is about appearances,” Elizabeth snapped, “You’re not some decoration to be wheeled out whenever we need it and if you think that I’d do anything because of what people would think of me if I didn’t, then we’re not really friends.”

Harry stepped back a little, a pain suddenly rising in his chest, “You don’t mean that.” He said weakly, all fight having suddenly left him as he looked at a still angry Elizabeth.

“Don’t I?” She replied, “Because if you think that I would do anything for you out of pity because of your parents then you don’t know me, and you never really did.”

With that last declaration, the two stood there in silence. Only the ticking of the grandfather clock broke it as they stared at each other, anger slowly leaving Elizabeth as Harry stood opposite her, several steps away, with his head throbbing and a dull ache in his chest.

He’d never had a fight with his friends before, not one as big as this felt. Moments where they didn’t agree, tiny things that don’t really matter but matter a lot at the time, but nothing that felt as monumental as this. Harry didn’t like it. Why had this all started anyway? What forced him to act like that?

Harry didn’t know how long they stood facing each other in the aftermath of their argument. It felt like hours but was probably less than a minute. What did they say now? What could he say?

“I,” Harry started, before choking slightly and having to swallow, looking anywhere but at Elizabeth, “I’ve never told anyone that I can’t remember my parents.”

Taking a deep breath, Harry looked down at his feet, whatever posh shoes Governor Swann had bought him all those months ago, “Everyone I talked to about them loved them, told me they were the best of anyone they’ve ever met; so how could I tell them that I couldn’t remember what they looked like, didn’t know what they looked like until I saw a picture of them.”

Looking up, but avoiding Elizabeth, Harry continued, “After a while, whenever I met someone, I assumed that they would pity me, and I’d push them away. I didn’t want help from someone who only cared about the orphan boy, the poor boy without anyone around to look after him.”

“Harry,” Elizabeth said softly, from somewhere in front of him.

“When I told you, I expected the pity.” Harry insisted as he cut over her, “I didn’t expect to feel angry about it, I didn’t want you to pity me because of my parents. I just wanted to be Harry.”

A hand on his arm, Harry looks to its owner, Elizabeth. She looks sad and Harry can’t help but feel even worse, “I’m sorry,” he blurts out as an unknowing weight lifts off his shoulder.

“I’m sorry too,” Elizabeth chokes out, her eyes shining, “I didn’t go to my father because I pitied you or because I felt guilty. I did it because… you’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”

In that moment, Harry felt lighter than ever and without thinking grabbed Elizabeth into a hug, surprising the young girl with a shocked and slightly teary exclamation. The slight smell of lilies coming off her from her perfume as her arms slowly close around him to return the unexpected hug.

“You’re my best friend as well,” Harry mutters, embarrassed and slightly guilty, thinking of the year spent with Ron and Hermione running around Hogwarts and how a girl from 1720 managed to somehow become more important to him in such a short time. Pulling back from the hug, Harry and Elizabeth stared awkwardly at each other, neither knowing how to move past the fight and reconciliation.

“So,” Harry started as he slowly moved back towards his spot on the long sofa, “turns out you can slap really hard.”

“Well,” Elizabeth blushed as she moved with Harry back to her seat, “you best remember that whilst I’m a lady, I’m also a pirate enthusiast and know how to defend myself.”

Harry smiled lightly as he sat down and picked up the nearby compass as he looked back to Elizabeth to see her lightly smiling as she started opening a book on piracy that her father had given her yesterday.

* * *

**January 14 th, 1721**

“And she actually hit you?” Will asked as he moved a bucket of water from one side of the workshop to the other, “How is it that she can hit you, but I can’t?”

“Well,” Harry began as he moved some hay into the feeding trough for the donkey, petting it slightly as it walked towards him and started eating, “I’ve learned that it’s ungentlemanly to not let a woman hit you when she’s angry, so I had to let her do it.”

Will scoffed as he gently put the water bucket down as he moved back over to the other side to start moving large heavy metal ingots, “Sure Harry, keep telling yourself that and maybe someone will believe it.”

Harry laughed as he watched Will work, they had just finished with some of Will’s daily sword training. Harry had managed to keep pace with his friend so far, having moved with him onto what Will was calling ‘basic footwork’ to improve balance, speed and power. He didn’t doubt that Will wasn’t committed to training, more that he was worried that his friend would find out that people didn’t play fair. Dudley taught him that.

“Will, I uh, need to tell you something,” Harry said suddenly, a few days after his fight with Elizabeth, the girl pointed out that Will would need to know about him leaving with Norrington. He’d visited four times in the past two weeks and hadn’t yet managed to break the news to his friend.

“What is it Harry?” Will grunted out as he put the ingot in a large stone bucket.

“Well, Commander Norrington is returning to Port Royal in a few weeks,” Harry started as he nervously paced over to his friend, “and when he is promoted to Captain, I’m going with, uh, him.”

Looking at Will nervously, Harry waited for his reaction, hoping that it wouldn’t end up in a fight like with Elizabeth. He liked Will but being slapped by Elizabeth is different from possibly being hit by Will, no doubt his friend was getting strong from moving all the heavy items around all day.

“Aren’t you too young to go on a Royal Navy ship?” Will asked as he wiped his hands with a cloth that appeared out of thin air.

“Uh,” Harry replied dumbly as he looked at the rag, “No, I’m joining as a cabin boy not as a crewman or an officer or anything like that.”

“Huh,” Will exclaimed as a grin slowly spread across his face, “standards must be slipping if they’re letting soft noble boys like you on.”

“Maybe they’re tired of having a lower class of person,” Harry retorted haughtily as he grinned back at Will, sometimes it was like he was talking to Ron.

“Whatever you say Captain Harry, sir,” Will replied as he bowed slightly, reminding Harry of himself when he bowed to Elizabeth on the Dauntless.

“Thank you, Mr Turner,” Harry replied as he bowed a lot more cleanly than Will did, showing off the skills special tutoring gave you before he started laughing along with his equally amused friend.

It was only after they stopped laughing, did Harry notice a look in Will’s eye. He didn’t know why, but he was reminded of when he first met Ron, on the Hogwarts Express, and he looked at the sweet trolley in desire as it came by their door. It hurt a little, thinking of memories from the future always did a little, but looking at Will now, he knew the boy needed something.

“What is it Will?” He asked as he moved closer to the boy, who was already moving towards another ingot.

“It’s just,” Will finally said after he moved another ingot across the room, “After my mother died, I came here looking for my father and I’m doing what I can to eventually go looking for him but, well, you’re going out there now and I was just wondering.”

“Will,” Harry interrupted, forcing his friend to look up from his ramble, “I don’t really know where to start, but I’m looking for hints of my family. I can ask about your father as well if you want.”

“I mean, do you think you could?” Will almost gasped at him, his lungs emptying at Harry’s words, “If you could find anything at all it would be more than I’ve got right now.”

Harry walked up to his friend and put a hand on his shoulder to get his attention, he was just looking for his father and he was stuck here because he couldn’t get on a ship like Harry could and look for him. How could Harry do anything other than offer to look for his friend and looked him right in the eye and said, “I’ll do what I can Will, I promise.”

* * *

**February 4 th, 1721**

The HMS Interceptor was launching tomorrow, Commander Norrington became Captain Norrington the day before and he had quickly put together his crew and prepared to sail his route around the Caribbean, currently protecting trade ships.

Harry had met with Captain Norrington shortly after his promotion ceremony and had officially accepted to join the Captain’s crew. Norrington assured Harry that he wouldn’t be treated harshly by him and his crew because of his age or his status in society and expected him to do his tasks to the highest of degrees.

Not knowing what exactly was expected of him, it was hard to say yes to the new Captain, but Harry did so all the same. He didn’t want to mess up before even setting foot on the boat and he knew that he’d do anything to stay there and continue his search for magic and information on Will’s father.

He was currently sitting with Elizabeth on the railing of the west side of the house as they watched the sun set. It was their last full day together and Elizabeth had helped Harry finish with some of his packing, making sure that he had the paper to write back to them as well as his compass and it ended up with her taking over with a nervous energy that Harry didn’t know how to put at ease. Mainly because he was feeling it as well.

They had spent lots of their time together over the past six months and Harry was finding it as hard to leave as he thought he would. It wasn’t just because he saw Elizabeth’s fear that night of their ill-fated get away, it was because he was afraid himself. He was safe with the Swann’s and at Port Royal, but he knew it wasn’t where he had to stay, in his gut he knew he had to leave because this place, this time, wasn’t his home.

“I’m worried for you Harry,” Elizabeth said to his right, her hand laying next to her on the stone railing as she looked forward towards the setting sun.

Turning his head to look at hear fully, she turned her head as well. They’d repaired things after their fight, going back to their normal routine with a few changes that Harry wasn’t sure how they came about. Little things that he didn’t notice himself doing, looking for her in a room or wanting to tell her about something he read or learnt. He didn’t understand why, but he found her doing it as well and knew that it was just something new for them both.

“Me too,” Harry admitted as his hand rested next to hers.

Harry watched as Elizabeth turned back towards the setting sun and let out a deep sigh. This was the calm before the storm, Governor Swann was off somewhere with Captain Norrington as he finished preparations for their launch in the morning. This would probably be the last moment he spent with Elizabeth for a while.

“Promise me you’ll come back Harry,” Elizabeth pleaded, not looking at him as he stared at her.

Could he come back to her? If he found magic and they knew of a way to return him, could he return one final time to say goodbye, would he be able to return if the magical world found out about a time travelling child roaming the Caribbean?

He wanted to say that he might not be able to come back, that things out of his control could happen and he might not see her again. Tell her about magic and the wonders of the world that he was a part of, about who he was and why he was going on this trip and why he might not return if he found what he was looking for.

But he couldn’t.

So instead, Harry looked back towards the sun, the skyline wiping away the remaining blue of the day as a deep orange filled the sky and took a short breath before saying quietly.

“I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm great at deadlines and I'll hear no slander to say otherwise. I've seen all the comments as well, but some of them have better ideas than I do so I'm ignoring them and stealing the ideas. There were some really nice comments about this story and my writing and I'll take the ego boost and put it into fueling the next chapters. I've got a burst of inspiration at just the right time because I've only got like 2 or 3 chapters left before I run out and would have to write from scratch rather than edit them. Also, you might not notice but this is what I consider the end of the introduction. Sunset, goodbyes and all that jazz. Moving on it will, hopefully, be a bit more swashbuckling and with some different characters for some crazy looking adventures. I haven't written out the next two arcs like I did when I started it, but I've a vague rough plan and if I'm half as good as I boast myself to be it should be fun, less edgy as well hopefully but we'll see I suppose.
> 
> Rate, Review, Like, Comment, Subscribe, Ding that Bell and whatever other buzzwords apply and I'll get to putting words on a, uh, word document.


	10. Aboard the Interceptor I

**February 5 th, 1721, The Caribbean Sea**

Harry let out a light chuckle as he felt the wind rush past him, rustling his hair as he closed his eyes to imagine himself high up in the air on his broom. He hadn’t realised how much he had missed the feeling of the wind until just now, how much he missed magic in general.

Opening his eyes, Harry looked down from his place on the top of the crow’s nest. It hadn’t taken him long to climb his way up here, eager to get a look at the ship he would be staying on and the open ocean he would be sailing on. The Interceptor wasn’t as large as the Dauntless, less cannons and a smaller crew, but it was fast and having already set sail, Harry could feel the speed of the ship from the movement below and the wind above.

“Boy,” A voice shouted to him from his side, gaining his attention was a member of the crew who was climbing towards him, “Cap’n wants a word.”

Looking down, Harry saw Captain Norrington standing on the upper deck of the ship watching his crew. Nodding and moving out of the man’s way as he settled in the crow’s nest, Harry quickly started making his way down the rigging. He found that agility from years of being chased by Dudley had made him a fast climber as he quickly found himself jumping from the rigging to the deck of the ship and racing up towards Captain Norrington and doing his best to stand at attention.

“At ease, Mr Potter,” Captain Norrington said as he turned from the deck and towards Harry, “I thought we should have a quick word about your role on the ship.”

Harry followed Captain Norrington down into his cabin, decorated sparsely with only a few mapping items laying around. It was a spacious room, where Harry spotted a door that probably lead to his sleeping area, the entire thing was probably the size of all the officer’s rooms combined, of which Harry himself had been allowed one because of his connection to Governor Swann.

“Now, whilst it isn’t unusual to have a boy your age aboard a ship,” Captain Norrington started as he took a seat behind his large desk, “It is a little more unusual given your unique status; because of this I won’t be giving you the more… menial work that you would normally get.”

Captain Norrington started shuffling through several papers, not looking at an increasingly nervous Harry who was starting to wonder what he was going to be doing on the ship. Having watched the crew on the Dauntless and on the Interceptor as well, he knew he wouldn’t be much help trying to tie down a knot, not yet anyway.

“I discussed with Governor Swann several general tasks that would be suited for you within a degree of safety,” Captain Norrington declared as he finally found a small piece of paper under much larger sheets of paper with Governor Swann’s name on the top, “You’re posting will earn you one pound and five shillings upon the end of each month and you will be reporting to me personally since I have given my guarantee to Governor Swann of your continued safety.”

Harry tried not to look too confused at Captain Norrington’s words, he wasn’t expecting to get paid at all, but if he was then he would’ve preferred to get paid more than a quid. Harry quickly wondered if this was something Governor Swann worked out with the Captain as some form of pocket money, he had assumed he was working to be able to stay on the boat.

“On the prospect of work,” Captain Norrington continued, seemingly unaware of Harry’s internal monologue, “A list of basic tasks that surmount to the general upkeep of the ship and the support of her crew. It mainly involves tasks that Governor Swann has told me you have an interest in and someone of your status cannot be seen scrubbing the floors like a normal cabin boy anyway.”

Captain Norrington leans ever so slightly over the desk to hand him the list as Harry stood up from his chair and had to learn forwards a lot to be able to take the list from his hand. Returning to his seat, Harry read the short list and still didn’t really know what he was supposed to be doing but assumed that he would be told by Captain Norrington when he was needed and could figure everything else out.

He noticed that knot maintenance was at the top of the list, something that Harry had spent some time reading but not a lot of practicing and was eager to try. He saw how complicated it was on the Dauntless and knew it was integral to running a ship, just one knot loose and the entire ship would fall into chaos. Other elements like carrying supplies across ship when needed and refilling water tanks were all simply, though at the bottom there was a note on eventual battle orders that commanded him to remain below deck with canon crews and provide support.

“I expect you to stick to your word Mr Potter,” Captain Norrington said seriously as he picked up a nearby discarded quill and a blank piece of paper, “I expect a high quality of diligence from you, don’t let me or Governor Swann down.”

“I won’t Captain,” Harry spoke clearly, he’d be damned if after six months he was going to blow his chance at finding magic because he forgot to tie a knot and decided to run off somewhere.

“Good,” Captain Norrington smiled as he looked him in the eye, “Dismissed Mr Potter, I believe the boatswain should be looking for your return to deck.”

Harry didn’t say anything else, remembering his lessons on proper conduct, and bowed slightly to Captain Norrington and left the Captain’s cabin, not seeing the look of contemplation upon Captain Norrington’s face before he continued with writing his letter.

Closing the door behind him, Harry took a few steps away before letting out a deep sigh. He remembered Captain Norrington being very intense when he was a Lieutenant upon the Dauntless but seeing him in command on the Interceptor was something else entirely. Looking out among the crew, Harry spotted a man walking briskly towards him and stood a little straighter.

_You’ve got this Harry,_ he thought second before the man reached this, _what’s the worst that could happen?_

**February 11 th, 1721, The Caribbean Sea**

The sea sprayed in Harry’s face as the storm kicked up around them even more. The sun set almost an hour ago and night was setting in and Harry knew that none of them would be able to get to sleep, let alone get somewhere out of the harsh rain that was currently pelting down onto them.

Spitting the ocean water out of his mouth, Harry quickly dodged out of the way of a running sailor as he ran across the deck of the Interceptor to reach a pile of wet ropes that had been left on deck from before they were in the storm.

Harry watched in awe as a lightning bolt lit up the sky, slightly blinding him as he heard the crack split the air, before moving quickly towards the pile of ropes. He had just finished securing some loose cargo down in the hold and came up with the boatswain to help with anything that he could, mainly securing whatever he could to the deck.

Grabbing the bundle, Harry rocked with a particularly harsh wave as he watched a crewmember almost fall off the edge of the ship, keeping hold by a single hand only. Rushing over, Harry grabbed the end of one of his ropes and quickly threw it over the edge towards the man, getting a firm grip and almost lying down so his feet and the side of the ship could hold the weight of the man.

After a few moments, Harry spotted an arm reaching over the side, as well as the end of the rope and he jumped up to help the man aboard to recognise the face of Joshamee Gibbs. He remembered the paranoid man from the Dauntless, though if he recognised him Harry didn’t know, but it was with great effort that he managed to help the man back onto the deck, both panting as Gibbs shouted something that was lost to the storm.

After that quick rest, Harry slid slightly on the wet deck as the boat rocked from bow to stern as another crack of lighting split the tense air. He’d never seen a storm this bad in his life, not even from afar, and now he was stuck in one with only armfuls of rope for comfort.

Forcing himself up, Harry left Gibbs panting on the deck and ran over to where the boatswain and several members of the crew were fighting a rope to stay in position, and seemingly losing as well as the men grimaced in pain as the rope slowly started to slip from their hands.

“Harry,” he heard the boatswain shout over the storm, “Tie this rope down quickly or we’re all goin’ for a swim.”

Nodding, Harry quickly started to run through the movements of the main knot he had tied whilst on the Interceptor so far, the bowline. He wasn’t sure if it was the right knot to use at the moment, but it was the one that Harry had the most experience with and so he ran around behind them, slipping a little along the way, and dropped his ropes carelessly next to him as he saw excess rope slowly slipping away.

Grabbing the end, Harry took one of Will’s fighting stances to keep him steady as the waves started to pick up intensity. Slinging it around the post, Harry quickly worked through the motions of the knot, his hands freezing, and the sea sprayed him again and he fumbled to rope a little, forcing him to start again.

With less rope, Harry threw it around the post and quickly tied the knot as he heard the boatswain start shouting at him to finish quickly. Grabbing the two ends of the rope, Harry pulled and tightened it before standing back and tapping the boatswain’s shoulder before the ship was rocked by an especially nasty wave and Harry went barrelling into the side of the ship, managing to get a good look at the dark ocean before being pulled back by someone.

Before he could face the person that pulled him back, Harry heard a piercing scream and saw someone drop from above and into dark water, quickly being washed away. Looking behind him, Harry saw Gibbs with a grim look at the sailor before guiding him away from the edge, almost shouting into his ear, Gibbs said, “You’re gonna be needing to get below deck Mr Harry, we’ll not be out of this anytime soon.”

It was with those words that another scream pierced the air as another crewman fell from the rigging above and hit the side of the ship before falling into the ocean. Harry quickly saw a little blood from the man before it was washed away with the rain and he felt nauseous for the first time since setting sail. Looking from where the man fell, Harry hadn’t noticed Gibbs leaving to join the crew in maintaining the sail to last the storm.

Turning to his ropes left on the deck of the ship, Harry moved to pick them up before feeling a hand on his shoulder and being forced to look at its owner, Captain Norrington. A firm grip on his arm, Harry was bodily forced into Captain Norrington’s cabin and out of the rain, Harry could see that the Captain looked worried. _Sailing during the storm was his idea_ , Harry thought as he looked out the windowed doors to see the crew still battling the storm.

“Stay in here Harry,” Captain Norrington commanded as he moved back towards the door, “Don’t come out until I send someone to get you.”

“But I can help,” Harry protested as he moved towards the door with Captain Norrington, “I can help the crew, I have helped the crew.”

“Yes, you have,” Captain Norrington replied harshly as he moved Harry back a few steps, “And now you will remain here, safe, and the crew can do their jobs without having to worry about you.”

Stepping back a bit more, Harry looked in confusion and hurt at the Captain’s words as he re-joined the crew out on deck. He considered going back out, helping some more, but knew that if he disobeyed a Captain’s order then he’d be in big trouble.

Another crack of thunder split the air as Harry heard the, only slightly, muffled rain batter down on the windows of the Captain’s cabin. Moving towards the desk, Harry spotted an unfinished letter to Governor Swann detailing what Harry had been up to the past few days on the ship. It wasn’t finished yet, but it was clearly outlining the ways Captain Norrington was working to keep Harry as safe as possible whilst working within his orders.

Underneath the unfinished letter lay a letter from Governor Swann, dated to a few weeks before Captain Norrington had arrived at Port Royal. It outlined that Governor Swann would promote Norrington early if he would accept Harry as part of his crew and that Harry was protected within a reasonable standard, understanding that unseen circumstances can occur.

Harry stared in shock at the two letters, Captain Norrington was only made Captain because of him. So many other things started to make sense, why Harry wasn’t allowed too far up the rigging, why he was kept to doing work below deck and knot work that required more than one person, so that there was someone with him in case something bad happened. It was why he couldn’t help when a storm was causing the ship to sway so erratically, even though he had managed to help whilst he was out there.

_I’m just an avenue for promotion_ , Harry thought as he put the letters down, staring out to the crew who were still running around ragged as he watched the pile of ropes, he was carrying slide across the deck. _At least the boatswain and the crew don’t treat me like a noble child,_ he thought bitterly as he shook himself free of his waterlogged clothes, these weren’t as fancy as the clothes that Governor Swann had bought him, these were new seafaring clothes that Governor Swann had insisted on buying a week before leaving on the Interceptor.

It was in that quiet moment, alone at sea as a storm raged around him that Harry realised, he was as much a trapped under the command of Captain Norrington than he was living in Port Royal; and Harry wondered if this wasn’t the worse deal, because at Port Royal he had Elizabeth to help pass the time with.

Harry stood up and moved over towards the Captain’s desk, grabbed the nearby Quill and a sheet of blank paper, and started writing to the person that he wanted to talk to most about everything going on right now.

_Dear Elizabeth,_

**February 11 th, 1721, Port Royal**

“Are you sure it was a good idea sending him out to sea with Norrington.” Alexander McLaggen asked as he sipped on the courteous glass of gin given to him by his host, “Even if the boy isn’t who he says he is, he might be… you know.”

Governor Swann leant back into his chair as he poured himself a small glass of gin, he did have a meeting with the East India Trading Company in the morning and drinking too much, even over a discussion like this, was something that was ill-advised on the eve of an important meeting.

“Whilst he’s been out in Port Royal, it’s been reported that he’s searching for something,” Alexander commented as he leant forward, “It could be that he’s looking for something that not everyone can see.”

“It’s possible,” Governor Swann commented, “He did appear mysteriously, and he may just be finding a way back for himself, though my instincts tell me that there is something more to him beyond a possible oddity.”

“Possibly oddity,” Alexander scoffed into his drink, “You didn’t ask for me to come across to the new world because of a possible oddity, you’ve suspected it from the start. I just wonder why you’ve possibly let him go so easily; I thought the crown had been looking for a way in for decades now?”

“It’s true, the crown has been looking at multiple avenues,” Governor Swann commented lightly, “though how you would know about that is troubling.”

“You hear things from time to time,” Alexander said with a smirk as he placed his empty glass on Governor Swann’s desk, “What are you doing here Weatherby?”

Governor Swann looked down into his drink, swirling the liquid a few times before taking a sip. He’d never understood why gin was as popular as it was, he didn’t think much of it, too harsh for his liking. French wine, now that was something that he loved, say what you would about the French, but they had the best wine in the world.

“I’m not quite sure,” Governor Swann replied as he placed his glass on the desk, “But I do know that the longer that boy stayed with me, eyes would be drawn to him, eyes I cannot protect him against. At least at sea he can remain anonymous for a time, hopefully long enough to protect himself.”

Alexander McLaggen shook his head as he sat back in his seat, a smile on his face as he looked at his long-time friend, “You’re a talented politician Weatherby, but don’t get too involved in the boy, everything about him screams destiny and trouble.”

Governor Swann smirked slightly, “Is that all?”

Standing up, Governor Swann stuck his hand out and gave Alexander two firms shakes before letting go and walking back towards his liquor cabinet, bottle of gin in hand. The cabinet was from simpler times, but was of great sentimental value to him, having been the first gift from the Czar of Russia, in thanks for helping secure an alliance during the Great Northern War.

“I’ll take such advise into consideration my friend,” He said in amusement as he heard laughter from behind him.

“I highly doubt it,” Alexander said with a chuckle, “I’ll come back in a few months, around the time the boy should be returning.”

“Until then,” Governor Swann replied as he went to close the door of the cupboard that contained several different drinks for when he was hosting guests as a loud crack shot through the air upon him seemingly slammed it shut.

Returning to his desk, Governor Swann picked up the only glass on his desk as a servant knocked on his door and entered, slightly alarmed.

“Is everything alright in here Governor Swann?” The servant asked as she stood cautiously at the door, watching her employer standing in the middle of his office with a glass in his hand.

“Yes, everything is good,” He replied as he walked over towards her, “If you could take this glass to the kitchen, I’m afraid I had a little late night drink to help keep me up over these last few documents.”

The servant smiled slightly, quickly taking the glass and hurriedly leaving the room, closing the door gently as Governor Swann turned to return to his desk. Smiling to himself as he sat and looked at the empty chair in front of him for a second, before turning to the documents he needed to know for the meeting.

The East India Trading Company wasn’t a Company you were to meet unprepared or caught off-guard. The only thing that mattered to them, was good business.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead and I'm not fully gone but life do be going hard. I've got a couple chapters in the back burner but I didn't look this one over at all before posting it so it might be pure trash and need a tonne of editing or it might be really good and I'm secretly a genius, saying that I have been giving some updates to previous chapters to clean things up but don't expect anything major. I'll be back in probably another three months with another chapter but I also might be back sooner it really all depends on how motivated I am with my free time.


End file.
